MetaGreg

Lesson One, then, is this: Productivity varies over the course of the workday, with the greatest productivity occurring in the first four to  six hours. After enough hours, productivity approaches zero; eventually it becomes negative.

Lesson Two, then is this: Productivity is hard to quantify for knowledge workers.

Lesson Three is this: five-day weeks of eight-hour days maximize long-term output in every industry that has been studied over the past century. What makes us think that our industry is somehow exempt from
this rule?

Lesson Four is this: At 60 hours per week, the loss of productivity caused by working longer hours overwhelms the extra hours worked within a couple of months.

Lesson Five is this: Continuous work reduces cognitive function 25% for every 24 hours. Multiple consecutive overnighters have a severe cumulative effect.

Lesson Six is this: Error rates climb with hours worked and especially with loss of sleep . Eventually the odds catch up with you, and catastrophe occurs. When schedules are tight and budgets are big, is this a risk you can really afford to take?

Read the article by Evan Robinson.

Photo courtesy of programwitch.

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