The 100 Hour Workweek
Like I ranted about last week, working hard seems to be a lost art. For some reason, there is an expectation that a shortcut to everything must exist and that discovering the quickest way to achieve something should be where most of your effort is focused. I call B.S.
Anyone that is trying to sell you the secret to getting the results you desire in business, fitness, knowledge, or a specific skill is usually just trying to rip you off.
You want the real secret to success? Put in the damn work.
The 4-Hour Pipe Dream
Think about how little time four hours a week really is. Do you think you could really build a successful business in a year only working four hours a week? That is barely over a half hour a day.
On the flip side, I believe that to truly succeed in business or your personal life you need to put in the time and effort.
And I don't mean spending just a few hours on the weekend or only listening to podcasts during your commute to work. I mean nose to the grindstone, highly focused attention spent on getting things done that will get you closer to your end goal, whatever that may be.
The 100 Hour Workweek
The 40 hour workweek was made popular by Henry Ford in the early 1900's, but it has now become the mainstay for many countries around the world.
It includes just enough time each day to work, enough time to relax, and enough time for sleep before repeating it all over again.
If you want to radically change your position in life though, you'll most likely need to be "working" more than forty hours a week. Especially if you still have your dayjob and are building up a side hustle.
Sure, you can eventually make your way back down to a reasonable amount of time spent working each week, but why is everyone so afraid to put in the time?
While working a hundred hours a week isn't really a sustainable level for most people, if you are actually passionate about what you are doing, a 100HWW can be one of the best weeks in your life for a few reasons.
- When you enjoy what you are working on the time will fly by.
- You can make progress faster when your time spent working is lumped together.
- Putting in 100 hours in a single week is something you'll want to avoid having to do in the long-run, so doing it once towards the beginning will show you why you need to work efficiently.
- If you're learning something new you should be able to get over the learning curve in a single week instead of wasting a few months struggling.
If you are really serious about turning your life or business around you have to be willing to put in the time.
And sometimes that means putting the rest of your life on hold for a week so that you can really make a dent in what you are trying to do.
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Have you ever put in a 100-hour workweek?
If so, was it worth it? If not, why haven't you?
Let me know in the comments below this post.