
Burnout  - peter123
http://steveblank.com/2009/07/20/burnout/
======
jlangenauer
I now no longer even read the title when I see a "steveblank.com" url - I just
click it, because I _know_ it's going to be good, and just overflowing with
honest-to-goodness Wisdom (with a capital W). Not sure if Steve reads here,
but I want to put my thanks out there for each of his postings.

I have to say I sometimes feel guilt when I'm not working on my start-up. I
know how long the to-do list is, but however much time I do put in, I also
know that sometimes I just need to take an entire 2-day weekend off, and not
think about it. I'm pretty sure the benefits I get from the break outweigh the
"lost" time I wasn't working.... but I still feel the guilt sometimes.

~~~
sblank
thx. Not wisdom, just old.

~~~
LogicHoleFlaw
I'm a youngun, and I just spent the afternoon devouring the site. Tons of gems
there. I will be back :)

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cstross
Burnout also seems to be a function of age. I'm nearly 45; I don't have the
stamina I did at 35, let alone 25. Nor do I have quite the same degree of
mental agility. What I've got now that I didn't have back then is experience
-- the aphorism "work smarter, not harder" springs to mind.

Also: _why_ work hard? Do you live to work, or work to live? That's a value
judgement only you can make for yourself; but when you stop to think about it,
try to separate out your personal feelings from the prevailing herd wisdom
(which is that _of course_ you must live to work, and anything else is somehow
subversive). You've only got the one shot at life: are you sure you're using
it wisely?

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pmichaud
This is an important message for people like us. We can easily work too hard,
but we shouldn't. Not only for hippy-bullshit reasons like quality of life,
but also because the data shows that we're looking at diminishing returns if
we work more than 40 hours a week.

~~~
angstrom
Some would even say before 40 hrs. It's a ridiculous farce that productivity
gains have not led to a shorter work day or work week.

~~~
vaksel
they have....just not in the USA.

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Tamerlin
It's very telling that the US is losing technology leadership in so many
areas, and instead of opening our eyes as a group and trying to improve, we're
just going down the same road of putting in long hours.

I guess when you're raised in a culture that rate the number of hours you put
in ahead of how much you get done and how high the quality of your work is,
you end up being a butt-in-seat staffer rather than someone who just gets
things done.

Sigh.

~~~
icey
As far as I can tell, we aren't losing technology leadership to countries that
have shorter workweeks than ours. If anything, the opposite appears to be true
to me (India, China, nations from the former USSR).

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silvio
Many times, the reason some people put so many hours at the office is because
they feel guilty about going home while the rest stick behind. Sometimes, the
people who stay behind don't really get to accomplish much, but in terms of
social dynamics, the bunch who "hang out" at the office get the political
spoils. Group leaders need to ensure that reward is given based on delivery,
as opposed to face time in the office.

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pchristensen
This is one reason why I consider HN time worthwhile - these are the lessons I
hope to never have to learn from experience.

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nopassrecover
As someone freelancing to unrealistic deadlines, studying full-time
(overloading courses), working full-time, trying to develop a couple of start-
up prototypes, maintaining a healthy relationship etc. this post really hits
home. Looking forward to the continuation of this story.

~~~
gaza3g
Same here, but not as bad. I'm holding a 9-6 job, doing part-time studies(down
to my final project, which is a full-fledge web app, not difficult but
tedious) and doing a freelance project(web application also).

Its one of those things which just happened and got out of hand real quickly.
I wake up at 7am and reach home at 8am. By the time I reach home, I'm already
drained from work that I could do neither my freelance nor my school project.

Weekends are the only time I have to do my non-work stuff and I'm trying to
figure how I can fit in a social life while I'm at it.

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fendale
> Besides seeing my housemates in Palo Alto I had no social life.

If you can look at yourself and say that, its time to sort out the social
thing immediately IMHO. No project, success or amount of money is going to
make you happier than having fun with your friends.

Personally, I cannot even imagine working 70 - 80 hour weeks, I have no idea
how folk can do it!

~~~
nopassrecover
Sleep is more flexible in the short-term than you may think.

------
known
Brain decline begins at age 27 <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7945569.stm>

