Before I had a baby, I used to log some pretty long hours as a freelance journalist. I wasn’t in an office, so there was no impetus to get home—I was already there. And I was usually working toward several deadlines at once, so I often spent evenings and weekends at my desk.
Then I had a baby, and I had to rethink my whole work strategy. Since I spend my evenings and weekends caring for my child, I’ve had to fit my efforts into more normal working hours. And you know what? I’m the better for it. Now that I know that my workday has to end at a specific time, I’m much more efficient and focused on getting things done.
As it turns out, I’m not alone in this. A four-year study at Harvard has now found that workaholics who were forced to spend some repeated time away from their desks (every Wednesday night after 6:00, say) saw improvements in their work—better communication with coworkers, better planning, more efficient effort, etc.
Apparently, when you’re required to plan for time off, you become a shining beacon of productivity while you’re actively working. When you work all the time, there’s no real sense of urgency, because there’s no 5 p.m. deadline. (Heck, you’ve got all night, right?)
The lesson: Just because you’re putting in 60 hours a week doesn’t mean you’re doing 60 hours of super-excellent work. It could actually mean you’re not terribly well-organized. If you’re not obligated to burn the midnight oil, try planning some time off, and see if your workday becomes more focused.
What do you think of this idea?
No questions asked- this is completely true. I recently started working 25 hours a week and am amazed at how much I can get done in that time. I don’t take breaks, my chats with co-workers are brief, and I have to completely focus on the tasks of each day (if not each hour). I’ve always said that no one should consistently work more than the hours they are paid for. If you do it either means you’re working inefficiently or you aren’t staffed properly.
I find this so true also! Thank you for this article.
I think it’s true. A good work/life balance makes for a happier worker — and a more productive one.
Absolutely true. This is one of the reasons having an office is such a luxury – it separates work and play with walls!
I discovered this was true in a different way– during our busy season, Task A may take me 2 hrs to get done. But then, when things slowed down and I had much less to do, I would find the task taking me maybe 3-4 hours to complete. Why? I didn’t feel pressure to get it done so I took my time.
Another example– if I have a yoga class I want to make at 6pm, I try harder to get everything done before then.
I believe that if you want to work more effectively, it’s necessary for there to be some sort of motivation for it. During busy season, I just wanted to get my work done so I could get a good night’s sleep! Often times, people are ineffective at work, because there aren’t always rewards for getting things done quickly. If I have to stay in the office X amount of hours no matter what and I have little work to do, there’s no motivation to do it faster.
For me, I find that when I make a schedule for myself of things I want to do in a day– whether it’s tasks at work, grocery shopping, dinner with a friend, or just watching tv, it gives me some extra motivation to be efficient and get things done. Oh yea, and it helps me if make myself work first and play later!