If you could work differently, what would you change?

My bet is this: LESS HOURS.

My other bet is: You would get MORE DONE, BE HAPPIER and STAY with the company for LONGER.

If we measured peoples energy instead of peoples hours, I think we would run our companies and our working week in a different way. And get better results.

Hmmm.

SOME MORE FOOD FOR THOUGHT:

An experiment in the 1940’s measured men loading pig iron onto train freight cars at The Bethlehem Steel Company. Each man didn’t stop until they managed 12 1/2 tons. By noon, they were exhausted and could do no more.

The next day, they were told to load the pig iron for 26 minutes. Then rest for 34 minutes. They rested more than they worked.  At the end of the day, they had loaded 47 tons. That’s almost 4 times as much as working flat out.

A short sprint followed by a longer rest can get way more done. (New Mantra: Sprint. Rest. Sprint. Rest.)

As humans, we are built for short bursts. Our attention span is built for short bursts. Our creativity is built for short bursts.

Who knew?

Not the working week.