Kill billable hours
Jim Halpert. Pros: smart, cool, good-looking – remind you of anybody you know? Cons? Not a hard worker – I can spend all day on a project, and he will finish the same project in a half an hour, so that should tell you something…
Michael Scott, The Office Season 3
Effort-based measurement of productivity is fucking stupid.
If you are paying or being paid hourly -and meaningful work is not being performed each hour- congratulations, you are discouraging progress.
Fix your shit with these steps (repeat as desired):
- Cap time spent on current work
- Reinvest extra time
Start with a goal of cutting 25% of your current work time. Be decisive. When you hit your time limit, stop.
It will be uncomfortable, but give you the time to figure out how to have the same impact in less time.
DISCLAIMER: CUT CORPORATE WORK TIME ONLY. IF YOU’RE A HEART SURGEON, DON’T FUCKING RUSH A HEART SURGERY.
Once you cap your work, one of three things will apply:
Elimination
In certain jobs, you may find that what you are doing has no material impact on your happiness, progression, bonuses, etc. Eliminate the bullshit. See also: https://amzn.to/2SbKWzg (affiliate)
If you aren’t getting rewarded for work , does it matter if you do it?
Stressing yourself for more work with less reward helps anyone but you. Don’t burn yourself out unless you can tie it directly back to your own progress or improving a critical relationship you want to preserve.
Improvement
Use your extra time to figure out why shit takes so long to get done. Are you fucking around on social media? Is the process broken? Are you waiting for shit? Are the tools terrible?
Use your 25% to create something to help you be more effective in your work. An automation, a spreadsheet, a new relationship with a partner, vendor, colleague, etc.
Reinvestment
After you either eliminate or improve your work, you are ready to re-invest your time. Like any other asset you own, you can think about how to allocate it to maximize your return. There are two broad categories for investment: internal and external.
- Internal – use extra time to benefit your current job or employer. If you’re being “monitored” for working a certain number of hours (stupid) then pick this. To avoid wasting too much time, turn your extracurricular activities into a new career path, promotion, business relationships, etc.
- External – use extra time to enriching your life. Play more, learn new skills, apply for new jobs, take on a side hustle, volunteer, etc.
