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It's pretty clear that doing the 80 hour week is something that works well if you're, say, a Silicon Valley entrepreneur. A difficult job, to be sure, but not t
by Florin_Andrei 10y ago
It's pretty clear that doing the 80 hour week is something that works well if you're, say, a Silicon Valley entrepreneur. A difficult job, to be sure, but not top-notch in the grand scheme of things. You're not inventing quantum mechanics, you're figuring out ways for people to share more cat pictures.
But if you are operating at the top of the pyramid of knowledge, like some of the people mentioned in the article, that's a different kind of effort. The 4 hours a day schedule, with plenty of breaks, seems to work best.
- matwood 10y ago> But if you are operating at the top of the pyramid of knowledge, like some of the people mentioned in the article, that's a different kind of effort. Yeah, it's an effort they are probably thinking about 24/7. Defining 'knowledge work' is challenging because so much of the 'work' happens when the person is not sitting at the computer/desk. Creative work is similar. Instead of saying so and so worked 4 hours/day, we need to change the definition of work.
- Florin_Andrei 10y agoI think it's virtually certain that, if they are indeed top figures in their fields, it's guaranteed that they are deeply involved in their work, and that means their subconscious minds are processing that stuff non-stop. But the subconscious is a funny thing, because it doesn't seem to require "effort" to operate, however you may define that notion. It's the fully conscious, purposeful, organized work that requires "effort" and consumes "energy". Not even sure how to define these things properly, but everyone seems to understand them intuitively. Anyway, to be successful at the highest levels, it seems like you have to be awfully protective of this "energy" thing.
- trentmb 10y ago> Not even sure how to define these things properly, but everyone seems to understand them intuitively. Focused vs. diffuse thinking.
- ggggtez 10y ago>you're figuring out ways for people to share more cat pictures Ahem, it's called "changing the world".
- Loic 10y agoAfter about 10 years of consulting in the field of thermodynamics, my week of work has now settled to 25h. I simply cannot be efficient after 4 to 5h of intensive work in this field. What is interesting is that not a single customer complained about it.