Looking for tips on maintaining superhero levels of energy throughout the working day. I need to think hard in my job, and I’m finding that my focus erodes alarmingly as the day goes on. There is very little chance of me doing anything creative past 4pm. This is probably normal, but I’m not looking for normal advice, I want to hear from the workaholic ubermensches.;j
Seriously, if I had more powerful focus I would probably work less hours and have a better life all round. Has anyone tried to alter their habits/diet/sleep patterns/fitness etc and gotten measurable benefits in their professional life?
From watching my father over the years and others he deals with. It appears to me that most workaholics are doing what they love to do. My father is a serial entrepreneur. He has created several profitable businesses over the last 40 years. No Wal-Marts or Microsofts, but small steady income producing ventures. If he could forego sleep he would. He loves the planning and researching for a new business startup. The buying and selling, talking to suppliers and customers. Designing marketing materials. It’s literally what he lives for. He’s 69. He’s always talking about retiring. It will never happen because he’s already doing what he wants to do.
And that’s the secret for virtually all his fellow workaholics. They love working because they’re doing what they want do do. Not what they have to do. Not what they were pushed into, but what they dream of doing. For them it is play, my father has referred to it as a game more than once over the years.
I agree. Both my father-in-law are like that. My mother is 56 and an international motivational speaker in education. My father-in-law is 70 and a self-made multi-millionaire that grew a butcher shop into a gourmet foods importing empire. They both work all the time. The reason is simple: work and “life” are not two seperate things to them. They are just one all one giant package. That is what they like to do. Whereas some people think, thank good the work day is over, now I can start my real life, they think no such thing. Work and life are the same things. My mother sometimes wakes up in the middle of the night and starts working just because that is what she wants to do. My father-in-law gets inspiration at all kinds of wierd times and just starts making conference calls and deals at the spur of the moment just because he got the inspiration.
That is not to say that they don’t have other kinds of fun. They do, but even many recreational activities like dinners out may involve people related to getting work done.
I think working with other people with a similar level of commitment is helpful.
Also, not putting false barriers up about when and how you work. I recently read that the woman who wrote Dear Abby would sleep until noon then stay up until 3am or so responding to letters. There is an article about these happy workaholics in this month’s Fast Company. I was struck by one guy who said he wakes up at 6:30 to the alarm on his Blackberry and answers 30-40 emails from bed. If it’s results that matter, why create some artificial rules where you need to get up, shower, eat and put on a suit before you can return an email? (obviously this is not an option in all fields, say, surgeon…)
The article also seconded the point about loving what you do.