I know plenty of people who pride themselves on putting in 18 or 20-hour days and brag about how they used to pull those "all nighters" back in college. Thinking back, I remember that more often than not, it was because we didn't know there was a smarter way to get things done, and given our youthfulness, we were able to use the "brute force" method and get anything done that we set our minds to.
In retrospect, today I would feel ashamed to admit to anyone that I took 18 or 20 hours to do what I now know is a 2 or 3-hour job with the right knowledge and technology!
I recall reading about a famous auto company executive during his peak years.
One of his senior vice presidents bragged to him one day about the long hours he constantly put in on the job seven days a week, month after month.
Instead of receiving praise from the top executive, this person received a real butt chewing for being so inefficient and disorganized that he couldn't plan out at least two weeks a year for vacation to recharge his batteries and do everyone a favor… including his coworkers, who lived with this taskmaster and his long suffering family.
It isn't about how much you work that counts as much as it is getting the important work done.
Maybe it's time to revisit your time management skills?
