This is the story of Réal; a real story.

At the first company I worked for, Réal was in charge of Web development. He was pulling in long – 10-12 hours – days and weekends trying to improve the business. I was looking up to him, thinking that, this is what I need to do to succeed. This is why, leaving at 4pm on a Friday, I felt really bad when he told me:

Already leaving? You need to work a lot in order to succeed.

This stayed with me all weekend.

I was convinced that Réal was right until, the next Monday, the owner of the company came in and fired 80% of the staff. They told Réal that the company was closing… I think we both realized how wrong his approach was the next week when he came to the office and saw that the remaining employees were doing his work.

Be smart about your time. It’s been proven many times that more work hours don’t equal more results or productivity; it just makes us dumb and inefficient (not counting stressed). Use constraints as opportunities; figure out how to best utilize your time.