SuperCompetent: The Six Keys to Perform at Your Productive Best

Chapter 4. All Work and No Play Makes Jack a Dull . . . Something

SUPERCOMPETENT Hero Thinking:	I regularly rest and recharge my batteries, so I can be productive and creative when I return to work.
SIMPLY COMPETENT Zero Thinking:	I can't take a vacation, because I'll be so behind when I return!

What if I said your productivity would improve by taking a full vacation, laughing more, and having more sex? You like me better already, I can tell. Well, it's true. Working nonstop without breaks is counterproductive, as is focusing on work to the exclusion of family, friends, and fun.

Some people claim to be so swamped they don't have time for a break—not for vacation, not for a social life, not for anything. I am severely unimpressed by people who brag about the long hours they put in each week. All this tells me is they're not managing their time well. You have to figure out how to get the results your job requires in as little time as possible, leave the office on time (or at least earlier than you are now), and get home to a life. If you're working too many hours, perhaps you're not delegating properly . . . or you haven't hired enough people . . . or you don't trust your assistant . . . or you haven't learned to use your e-mail program correctly . . . or you're a paranoid control freak.

Now, let me be clear: It's perfectly normal to occasionally work a 75-hour week when you have an important project deadline. Great. But then things should go back to normal. Alan Robbins, who founded the ...