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April 26, 2015

What’s Your Time?

I worked a good bit last week.  It was kind of a crazy week for me – lots of meetings;  There was a deadline on a project;  Several interruptions (as can always happen); New as well as re-scheduled meetings.  If you clocked in my time that I put in last week, I worked probably close to 48 maybe 50 hours total.

What was your time last week?

45 hours?  50?  70 maybe?

I ran across this study recently from a researcher at Stanford that should help us all as we start our week.  The study found that productivity per hour declines sharply when the workweek exceeds 50 hours, and it drops off so much after 55 hours that there’s no point in working any more. That’s right, people who work as much as 70 hours (or more) per week actually get the same amount done as people who work 55 hours. Those extra hours are wasted.

This should be encouraging to a Real Christian Businessman and it should also serve as a grand reminder! There are other things we should be doing other than working (spouse, family, taking care of our bodies, Praying, Reading the Bible, etc.).

Burning the midnight oil has to be done sometimes. We all realize that.  But working more than 55 hours a week is useless.

Unproductive.

Meaningless.

King Solomon, the WISEST man that ever lived and ever will live, was on to something:

“Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun” Ecc 2:11 NIV

(read the book of Ecclesiastes for even more insight – I am reading it right now myself)

Be reminded today and this week that there are greater things for us to be spending our time on, and that if we feel as though our “job” needs more than 55 hours this week then… well… we may be wasting part of our lives?

p.s. I am putting the finishing touches on my book that will be out very soon!  Stay tuned for more details and be ready for it to launch!