Do You Work More Than You Have To?

Andy Wibbels linked to a Reuters article yesterday about Americans working much more than our European counterparts. And I would venture to guess that business owners are among the Americans that work the most.

I'm hearing more and more about this and it's really starting to irk me. Perhaps the reason that the US is full of stressed out and unhappy people is because we have no lives - we work too much!

One of the biggest challenges faced by business owners with ADD is knowing when to quit. And I don't mean knowing when to give up on your business, I simply mean knowing when to stop working for the day.

Earlier this year, I started working a 30-hour week based on the advice of a nurse practitioner that I see. After reading The 4-Hour Work Week, I became convinced that even 30 hours might be too much. I've been experimenting with shutting down email and allowing myself to work without any distractions for a few hours straight. More often than not, I find that I can get it all done in 3-4 hours a day. And as Tim Ferriss points out in his book, if I gave myself 8 hours to do this same work, it would take 8 hours.

I think that the first step toward reversing this trend of over-worked America is taking an honest look at why we work so much. With ADD business owners, anxiety is often the number 1 reason.

The next step in reversing the trend is realizing that we've been conditioned in this society to believe that hard work is the only way to be successful. So many of us end up making things harder than they need to be, simply because we've become accustomed to a "no pain, no gain" philosophy.

And finally, as Tim Ferriss also points out, we have to learn how to "fill the void" once we're not working so much. Most ADDers won't have a big problem with this as we can easily find new and exciting things to capture out interest.

It is possible to be quick and efficient without being stressed and anxious. Give it a try and see what you think...

 

 

Comments

[Clemens Rettich]

I have been directed to your site by the wife of a client. Absolutely fantastic. Your work may have ADD as its focus, but your take on things is great learning for all of us!!

Reading your work I am having the same thoughts as I do when I research Generation Y stuff for my clients: "same as us only a bit more intense!"

Thank you for what you are contributing here. You have given me a LOT to learn.