My New Year's Resolution:
To work *no more* than 35 hours per week.
I'm back from a Christmas / New Year's vacation. It was the first real vacation I've taken since this time last year.
Good vacations make me feel like this.For me, vacation is like exercise - it can be hard to get myself to do it, but afterwards I'm always glad I did it. I was pretty relentless this time around about not working. I slept copiously, feasted, watched many movies (including star wars II-VI, lots of The Office, cartoons and some Planet Earth), did some fun reading, a lot of yoga. And yes - I did go on Linkspank, but I kept it in moderation so that it would not blend into work :-).
So, I am forming some New Year's resolutions. I used to think they were stupid but two things changed my mind: first, since I'm coming off a vacation I've had time to think and get perspective; and second, in business school they taught me about the psychology of commitment and the power of making (and writing, even blogging) them. (If you write something, and especially if you make it public, you're more likely to do it.)
My new year's resolution:
To work no more than 35 hours per week.
It's important to me for many reasons. First, I believe it helps overall outcome of your work. I have had a good mix of experiences for my age, of working hard, not working, and being around other people working, many of whom are leaders in their fields. And from my experiences I'm convinced that, in most jobs, there is little worth doing by one person in 60 hours per week that can't be done in 35.
Moreover, working less keeps me nice and mellow, gives me time to pursue my hobbies and chill with the people I love, and additionally fuels the creativity and big ideas which I think are the start and stop of any entrepreneurship.
Finally, working a bit less will give me more time for spanking. And that is the most relaxing and stimulating way I know of taking a quick break, and staying in touch with out-of-town friends and family. :-).
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