Work Martyrs
You know this but choose to ignore it anyway.
In the name of work, productivity, and achieving more, we’re feeding a beast that eats into our wellbeing and relationships.
You know that. And you also know I’m not describe anything new here.
Also this- most of us don’t know how to get around overworking as a long-term solution and it doesn’t help that we’ve got an awful lot of distractions in our lives. We don’t know how to get by without overworking and destroying our long-term well-being. Yet. And just sometimes actively thinking about, experimenting and setting some rules* can be the best precaution against committing the unforgivable.
Research suggests that doing more than 3 hours (or 2 hours 53 minutes to be exact) of work of any kind- be it writing or reading or teaching or doing exercise, is counterproductive.
But this-
Here’s an idea. Structure your day in such a way that you don’t do more than 3 hours of the same kind of work**.
As an example, if you’re an academic in the university, let’s say- you’ve got 8 hours of sleep (6+ 2 hours of beauty sleep if you’re lucky) then with the remaining 16 we “batch-cook” tasks
3 hours at most of writing- no more than that.
3 hours of self-care- doing things that keep you healthy- exercise, eat (please), etc.
3 hours at most of family and socialising- even for an extrovert, more than 3 hours can be draining.
3 hours at most of meetings. (This is for your best.)
3 hours at most of admin work. (I hope you’re not doing 3 hours a day of admin work in the first place)
you get the gist…
Tasks fill up time. So you determine the time. And my guess and best bet is- you don’t need 3 hours to do most buckets of things.
Remember the goal is to not overwork.
*be reasonable and evidence-based as far as possible. :)
**of course there’s terms and conditions- like mothers. Yeah not sure this applies to you.
Also, I certainly acknowledge my privilege here but it applies nevertheless.