4 Compelling Reasons Why Working Late is Damaging in the Long Run
Michael is a hard worker. Yet he finds his co-workers measure success differently. They put in long hours but don’t really get anything done.
They make comments to him about what time he arrives but especially what time he leaves like that’s the true measure of working hard.
There are times your job requires long hours. Often, others work late and expect the same of you. Yet sometimes it’s a matter of boundaries.
I worked a job a few years ago that working late was a badge of honor. Yet upon close inspection, they wasted SO much time.
Any given day, it would take forever for them to actually begin to work. They socialized in each other’s office or cube, took many coffee breaks, and hung out in the kitchen. Of course THAT made them hungry and they just had to take an incredibly long lunch break.
But they worked late. They win. Or do they…?
Here are 4 Reasons Why Working Late is Damaging in the Long Run
1. If I Plan for a Long Day It Will Take Me THAT Long to Get My Work Done
If I have 8 hours of work, I will fit it into 8 hours. But if I have 10 hours, I will somehow manage to fit it into 10 hours. Imagine how that works.
Think about the time you had to leave early but still had to get your work done. Did you do it? You didn’t have more time but less and you still accomplished your work.
The difference? Focus.
2. Hours do NOT Equal Productive
Just because I’m at work doesn’t necessarily mean I’m actually getting work done.
If we’re honest, being in an office doesn’t automatically get work completed any more than being in a garage makes you a car.
It’s the corporate lie that hours = productive but I learned that day after day in the example of my former job.
And often, I’m losing time somewhere within my day. The goal is to find out where and become productive while you’re there. Read about how to where you’re losing time within your day HERE.
3. The Toll Working Late Takes on my Evening
I find the later I work in my day, the less I’m engaged at home and just want to be left alone and completely veg. (insert bad habits that follow here)
My family has been waiting for me to come home, finally. And when I do, I’m lifeless and uninvolved. Great deal for them. I’ve sacrificed my evening which is completely avoidable. Learn more by clicking HERE.
Working late also shortens my evening, which makes me justify staying up later and as a result, my next day often starts later and the crazy cycle begins all over again. This is solvable.
I also find my nutrition usually tanks when I work late. I make poor choices when I live by the four words, Make the Healthiest Choice. Read about it HERE. Again, solvable.
4. The Later I Work the More Unproductive I Become
There is a point of no return. Focus fades. Energy drops. And the quality of work simply decreases big time.
There are more errors and it simply takes me longer to get something accomplished compared to when I’m fresh.
Things are getting done but often the time it takes increases and the quality of work decreases.
Suggestions to Consider…
Plan Your Day – if you took the time to plan your day you could get a more accurate read on what work needs to be accomplished and how long it will take. I even take planning so far to review the plan for the day after lunch to see what needs to be changed or adjusted to make sure I get my work completed in a normal hour day.
Make a Commitment to Only Work Late X# of Nights – if this is becoming an issue, commit to someone (family) that you will only work late on a certain number of nights and honor it. Wean your way off this crazy cycle to only one night then to none if possible. The key is using your time wisely.
Track Your Day – often there is lost time within your day that you could recapture to get what needs to be done so you can get home. When I’ve had people track their day, they’re amazed and usually embarrassed how much time is wasted and how much they’ve defended what was actually lost time to work. And you know what they found? They could easily leave on time if not early. Imagine that.
Determine Your Most Important Priorities – If I had to stay late it was usually because I didn’t get my most important task completed yet. But if you took the time first thing in the morning to determine what are the 3-5 most important priorities for the day and truly focused on the 1st one until it’s accomplished, THAT is often the priority that keeps you having to work late. And completely avoidable with focus and priority.
Closing Challenge…
Motivated professionals are driven to do their best. And that may mean putting in long hours but are not always smart hours.
The reality is working late is subjective. I could start late and work late but am I actually working late?
The question on the table is do you HAVE to work late if it’s not the current season of the job due to a project, event, etc.?
Most of the time that’s not the case. It’s a matter of using time wisely and getting organized and focused so you can be productive with your day.
I challenge you to look at how often you work late or at least later than you know you could and should then do whatever necessary to make the changes to avoid the damage in the long run.
Closing Question…
Do I REALLY have to work late or could I get organized enough to maximize my time and work smarter not longer?
