How many hours a week do you work? Is it “just” 40, or is it more like 50 or 60? There was a study by an economics professor from Stanford University that found “productivity per hour declines sharply when a person works more than 50 hours/week. After 55 hours, productivity drops so much that putting in any more hours would be pointless. And, those who work up to 70 hours a week are only getting the same amount of work done as those who put in the 55 hours.”

Busy and productive are not the same thing. Some of us pride ourselves on the long hours we work, but should we? We often define ourselves by our dedication to our work, but are the extra hours really producing anything of value, or is it all in our head? And what about the impact on our health and well-being? Have we factored that into our 60-hour work week? Probably not.

Imagine how we would spend today working if we knew we had to leave at 4:00 pm to catch a flight. We might work faster, but we’d definitely work more efficiently. We wouldn’t get side-tracked, we wouldn’t waste time on social media or other senseless distractions. We might not even look at texts or emails as frequently as before. We would have focused mental energy, unlike our loosey-goosey “we have the whole day to finish the task” kind of everyday mindset. Maybe we should start pretending, just one day a week, that we have a flight to catch! Watch our efficiency skyrocket! And what will you do with your extra hour or two? I can think of a few things!

Let’s GO! WE GOT THIS!

Beth Fitzgerald