Overworked? Think about chess
You pay a toll for all those unpaid hours. Are they advancing your endgame?
It’s a pretty simple question, until you try to answer it: Should you put in extra hours on your job, even if you’re not getting paid for them?
That tweet got lots of support, mostly ranging from “yeah” to “hell yeah,” but it also drew this comment, and the game was on:
They’re both trying to get young people to think several moves ahead, so let’s go with a chess analogy. If you lose your queen, it’s for one of three reasons: You were careless, you were overmatched or you sacrificed her to advance your endgame.
Free time is your most powerful piece. Appreciate why you’re sacrificing it.
A lot of people put in long hours because work brings them joy — and joy is life’s ultimate endgame. Entrepreneurs work way more than 40 hours a week. So do people at tech startups, pushing to get established. People in highly competitive fields do it because, well, they’re in highly competitive fields.
I can just see Tom Brady benching himself in the third quarter of the Super Bowl. “Sorry. I’m already at my 40 hours this week. Work-life balance, you know.”
But if you do crave that balance, you don’t need long hours to earn respect from bosses and colleagues. You’re not Cinderella, and they’re not your evil stepsisters.
Sure, in the first weeks of a job, especially early in your career, you might put in extra hours because you are overmatched and feel like a complete idiot. Just don’t do it carelessly, and keep your endgame in mind.
You want your reputation to be “Great Teammate” — not “Ooh, I Found A Sucker.”
No reasonable boss will expect you to be as good as your more experienced colleagues, but make sure your work is the best it can be — not careless or sloppy. If a boss isn’t impressed with your potential, you might be informally relegated to their second tier. Getting out of that takes a lot of work.
Showing initiative might pay off more than 10 hours of drudgery. Build skills your peers don’t have. Become the office expert on web design or social media. Study Spanish or Mandarin or Hindi, which could help your endgame. Go to workshops.
I’m not saying this is a fair trade, but if you have to hold two jobs, you’ll learn how to manage your time, set priorities and say no. Lots of workers are horrible at those things. You’ll have a huge advantage.
Warning, COVID analogy: Good time management is your vaccine against long hours. It’s not perfect, but will ease the suffering. Have a to-do list, keep your inbox clean, close Chrome tabs when you’re done with them, work for 30 or 60 minutes at a time without interruption. (Yes, that means putting your phone away.) Make routine decisions quickly and don’t be a perfectionist on trivial items.
My last two bosses were married men in the same basic age group (as in, Waaaay Younger Than Me), but one had young children and one didn’t. The parent stuck to a tighter schedule and had less time for small talk, but was more focused, communicated well and placed more of a premium on everyone’s time, not just his.
I’m not saying either boss was better — just that he wasn’t weaker because he had other priorities in life. If your boss ever makes you feel “lesser than” because you can’t be available 24/7, get out. Don’t swap your queen for an asshole.
Changing jobs can be great advice, but it can also be a symptom of someone who isn’t seeing all the moves. Two strategies you might miss:
Repeat after me: “That’s a management decision.” If your company won’t pay overtime, then guess what? Don’t work overtime. Management has decided it isn’t important. If it assigns only one person to cover a huge area, don’t run yourself ragged unless you’re improving your endgame. If it treats all of you as replaceable parts, realize that talented colleagues will leave quickly. Make peace with yourself or find a smarter company.
Have another gear that your bosses don’t see. If you’re smart and manage your time well, you can operate at 90% and still be better than most colleagues. Save that 10% for projects that excite you — ones that people will remember, rather than just creating a prettier shade of mediocre.
Most important: You could be passing up a great opportunity to sculpt your existing job. If you’ve impressed your boss, push for better hours, more flexible assignments and, yes, better pay. Even if money is tight, you might at least get an extra week of vacation. And you don’t have to break in a new boss.
If you’re not changing jobs for more pay or a better situation, then why are you? If your company is good but your boss is horrid, realize that they’ll be gone soon enough. If your peers or other supervisors get along well with that boss, figure out what strategies they use and try to adapt.
If your company stinks, your boss stinks and you can’t find any allies, then by all means run for the exit. But let’s be blunt: No one likes the job you’re doing. Do you?
Maybe you’re easily distracted because the work doesn’t interest you. Maybe you’re not just in the wrong career, but the wrong industry. Maybe instead of bringing out the best in you, your job brings out the worst. What exactly are you running to?
Working long hours is bad enough. Wasting them is far worse.
Murphy Slaw
Something old: Maybe this New York Times article will help you fight aging. It explains the dangers of sitting too much, pointing out that taking even 15 steps every half an hour can help. Surprise, surprise: More is better.
Something new: Broadway is back, and maybe this video will get you in the spirit, as cast members from “Hamilton,” “Wicked” and “The Lion King” join together in song.
Something borrowed: Lots of good advice in this thread, even if you aren’t exactly 25.
Something blue: Let’s leave the last words to Norm Macdonald, who died this week. They’re not words of sadness, but of joy.
I'd like to think that all those overtime hours when I was younger helped me get to the point where I could work for myself for the last 21 years. Best boss I ever had :). Great advice, Dave.
This is thoughtful, balanced advice. I particularly enjoyed this: "Don’t swap your queen for an asshole." Thank you, Dave.