The author of the article negates his points and attempts to protect himself by saying that all the information was based on anecdotal evidence. Well, no kiddin

The author of the article negates his points and attempts to protect himself by saying that all the information was based on anecdotal evidence. Well, no kidding?! First of all, we need to determine the type of work being done here. If you're in a creative environment, maybe 60-80 hours a week won't make you more productive. However, if you worked in some kind of production facility or in manual labor, you'll be a hell of a lot more productive if you put in the time. The first time I adjusted the valves on my motorcycle, it took me over a week. I took several breaks, I wasn't very organized and I mostly felt discouraged. When I did the same thing to a new bike, it was equally challenging since the parts and process were different, but I forced myself to work at it several hours at a time. I did about three hours on a Friday night, six hours on Saturday and two to three hours on Sunday and it was done. If we're going to take anecdotal evidence as gold here, I might as well mention that I learned complex piano pieces much faster and with greater accuracy the more time I spent on the piano. If I would have studied the music in 30-minute or 1-hour blocks, it would have taken me much longer. I tried. Instead, I could learn and memorize a piece like Chopin's Polonaise in A flat Major in just three days if I spent six or seven hours a day on it. Everyone is different - that's my point here. Some people can work with razor-sharp focus for several hours at a time, and others can't. There's nothing wrong with that. The best you can do is learn what works best for you, then do that. Can you get more done if you put in more time? Or are you the type who can be productive for four or five straight hours so you can have the rest of the day off? Figure it out. Lastly, I want to include something that David Baltimore, former president of Caltech, said about work and academic rigor: "When I grew up, we worked hard, played hard and never thought to minimize our activities because of stress. Sure, people were under stress and some cracked under it, but leading a "stressful" life was honored because of the accomplishments that could be achieved by those who could handle it. Today we deify the spa, not late hours solving problems at school or work. Caltech's high-achieving faculty and students are seen as weirdos because of their intense focus, but even here, some graduate students and postdoctoral fellows are seeking a more balanced life." Source: http://articles.latimes.com/2004/nov/29/opinion/oe-baltimore29 http://articles.latimes.com/2004/nov/29/opinion/oe-baltimore...