

Ask HN: Do I have to work 80 hrs a week because I am entrepreneur? - ahmedaly

Hello..
I am currently working around 80-90 hrs a week.. and just like any business owner.. I would believe it stills not enough time to get things done.<p>Do we have to work all that long hours, just because we own our business, and the type of the responsibility is different?<p>Is there anyway to work on a relatively good time.. and keep things on track.. like work smart, or any other techniques that any of you are using?
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jasonkester
Of course not. The whole reason many of us became entrepreneurs in the first
place is to minimize the amount we have to work.

I, for instance, spend maybe five hours a week maintaining the little web
empire that's bringing in enough to live comfortably on. Sure, there's always
a period of intense building at the beginning of a project where you can find
ways to occupy yourself for upwards of 40 hours in a single week, but if you
choose your niche well that period doesn't last long, and soon you're on to
the marketing phase which is measured more in calendar time than IDE time.

Naturally, if you're the sort of person who works 80 hour weeks, you'll find a
way to build a business that requires 80 hours of your time each week to stay
out of crisis. On the flip side, if you're the sort of person who prefers
month-long periods of idleness on tropical beaches with occasional email
checks to verify that your business is still running itself, that's entirely
doable as well.

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zokiboy
Tough one. Few suggestions:

#1 Track your time for few days and categorize each minute of what you do. How
many of them are productive and pushing your business forward? In most cases
20% of your time is bringing you 80% of the gains. Pareto principle.

#2 Are you focused on few important things or your focus is spread to too many
things? In most cases it is better not to do somethings rather than do them
badly. Focus on the 20% from the point #1.

#3 Do you get enough rest and fun? If you work too hard you are less
productive and with exhaustion it takes you 2-3 times longer to complete tasks
than that you would do with enough energy/rest/focus. Have at least one day
off (or 8 consecutive hours) a week and try to relax few times a day with one
bigger break and several smaller ones.

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katherinehague
It all depends on what you want to get out of your business. You can
definitely structure your business in a way that minimizes the amount of time
you have to be involved. This can be through outsourcing, delegation, or even
just by picking a business model that requires less hands on involvement. If
you haven't already, read 4 Hour Work Week. <http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/>

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keiferski
Look into 37Signals, specifically David Heinemeier Hansson. They're always
giving speeches/talks about running a business with reasonable work hours.

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dstein
You don't have to work 80-90 hr/week. But if you don't, then you probably
aren't an entrepreneur.

