I'm able to make the 3-4 hours of work a day be extremely productive. I always deliver in fewer hours than were budgeted for the work. As a contractor, there are no extraneous meetings to slow me down. But I'm still involved in client meetings as needed, understand their needs, and take ownership of the codebase to my immense satisfaction.
It's not very different than working "full time" from home where you might take a walk, run an errand, cook your lunch, etc., but I can flex the schedule even further without any guilt. The change in mindset from "taking a break from full-time work" for an errand versus "I'm not billing this hour, I'll do whatever I want" is empowering.
The negatives: less pay in total for me (but hourly rate can be negotiated), and features might (but won't necessarily) get done more slowly in terms of calendar days.
BTW a typical day might be:
- daycare drop-off 9:30, exercise
- 10:30 shower, chores, life tasks
- 11:45 cook and eat lunch
- 12:30-4:30 work with a break for walking or playing piano
I do some "down time" thinking about problems as I fall asleep at night or on walks.