The idea that working more does not necessarily mean achieving more, and that we need to end the cult of overwork, seems to be cropping up all over the place these days.
Here are a few great, recent sightings.
Fred Gratzon lists the Top 10 signs you’re made to be an entrepreneur, including “You are unemployable” and “You have the uncanny ability to get other people to do all the work”.
In Spend less time working, get more done Adam Wiggins follows up on my post on why seat time does not equal productivity. Excellent!
Impact of overtime on productivity is on overwork in software development, but applies to all fields.
A common effect of putting teams under pressure is that they will reduce their concentration on quality and focus instead on “just banging out code”. They’ll hunker down, stop helping each other so much, reduce testing, reduce refactoring, and generally revert to just coding.
Interview with vacation advocate Joe Robinson
What is a gross national product when you don’t have a life? A few years ago, the Norwegians found that they were 14 percent more productive than we [Americans] are. So they elected to take more time off.
Tom Hodgkinson tears apart some recent bad business books
The books under review recommend all sorts of immoral actions. In the old days, greed and covetousness were seen as sinful; now they are encouraged. Jack Welch’s Winning sets the tone. The author grins manically from the cover – despite the silver hair, manicured nails and perfect teeth, he looks like Beelzebub incarnate.
Alex, I have nothing to say, i totally agree with you and with everything you say on your tickets (be sure I’ll post when it’ll not be the case) and continue like that, you are in my top blog list!
In the video game industry it’s really hard to not do overwork. It’s a bad habit made by some warrior/cowboy programmers and it’s really hard to change mind in this industry but I’m sure it’ll change.
The best example is EA: http://news.com.com/Electronic+Arts+faces+overtime+lawsuit/2100-1043_3-5450316.html
I’m currently writing a book on entrepreneurship – and looking for entrepreneurs (which could range from freelance workers and independent consultants to people who have built up businesses with lots of employees) to share some of their tips and advice. So if any of your subscribers would like to contribute, then get them to leave me their contact details please!
http://robyeung.blogspot.com/2006/07/rules-of-entrepreneurship-want-to-get.html
Some people really do like to work quite a lot. If that is a source of personal satisfaction and happiness, then I don’t think there’s anything to end in this situation. That said, this group of over-achievers have to be careful to maintain the balance between work and the rest of life. Things can be put on the backseat indefinitely. And when it comes to exercise and family time, that’s bad. Delegate Source is a personal assistant company based in Denver that helps busy professionals maintain a healthy work/life balance by allowing them to delegate personal errands and tasks. Anything related to the household can be delegated. Delegation is a vital component of productivity and sanity.