I'm Used To Working 16-hour Days — Here's How I Ensure Every Minute Is Spent Productively

If you want to build a lasting business, agelong hours are nan norm. It's not conscionable successful nan early days of nan business, either. I've been astatine it for complete 10 years, and nan ambition to move my CPG startup is arsenic beardown arsenic ever, meaning that, aft each this time, 16-hour activity days are point extraordinary.

The cause? Back-to-back investor meetings, aggravated activity sprints, putting retired fires and more, each of which are successful summation to nan day-to-day duties and responsibilities.

Popular contented says astir group max retired astatine astir six productive hours a day. But, arsenic a CEO, I cannot walk to locomotion nan remaining 10 hours successful zombie mode. I pridefulness myself connected putting 100% into everything I do — and nan maturation of my business depends connected it. While 16-hour days surely proceedings this ambition, I make nan astir of each infinitesimal acknowledgment to 3 practices I've developed complete nan years.

Related: Employees Are Burning Out — and nan Culprit Isn't What You Think

1. Planning nan work

The main value betwixt 16-hour activity days early connected successful your entrepreneurial recreation and 16-hour activity days erstwhile your business is well-established is that, successful nan 2nd case, you mostly cognize erstwhile and why nan agelong days are coming. This allows you to spread accordingly.

Every Friday, I spread my tasks for nan upcoming week. This includes immoderate nan regular to-dos arsenic bully arsenic point retired of nan ordinary. Essentially, this intends treating 16-hour workdays for illustration immoderate different workday.

While evident to me, it's a correction I spot galore others make — they make nary plans aliases schedules for their "second shift," believing that immoderate and each activity beyond nan accustomed 8 hours is productive. Not only is it not true, it too surprises maine that group are consenting to do overmuch work, small effectively. If you personification to sacrifice remainder and family clip for work, surely you should strive to tackle nan workload arsenic efficiently arsenic possible. That intends treating it for illustration immoderate different work.

2. Getting tin sleep

Seven hours a nighttime is non-negotiable. While 16-hour days hap each now and again, 18-hour days are retired of nan question. I cannot enactment productive aliases crisp if I haven't had tin sleep. I utilized to deliberation I could, but, successful retrospect, I spot that I was confounding accusation for productivity.

The different hours of activity you summation astatine nan costs of slumber is for illustration going to a indebtedness shark — aft contiguous gains, you'll beryllium repaying your indebtedness pinch crazy interest.

Please don't attraction connected nan number, though. While 7 hours is simply a saccharine spot for me, it mightiness not needfully activity for you. In suit you haven't yet, it falls connected your shoulders to find your optimal slumber schedule. Once you find it, recreation it diligently, and while it whitethorn beryllium difficult astatine first, your assemblage will accommodate to nan routine.

3. Keeping nan powerfulness up done beingness activity

Surviving 16-hour workdays isn't conscionable astir nan intelligence broadside — it's a beingness challenge, too, and 1 that you must respond to pinch nan aforesaid magnitude of mentation arsenic point else. My regular mightiness sound unconventional, but it keeps maine operating astatine maximum efficiency. I effort to support things simple: 1 repast per day, intensive HIIT (high-intensity interval training) workouts — often successful nan mediate of nan clip — and ever taking acold showers.

These practices aren't conscionable random habits. They've been cautiously curated complete nan span of respective years aft proving their worthy successful ensuring my productivity remains astatine its peak. The mid-day intensive workouts, successful particular, are a game-changer. They inject a burst of powerfulness that carries maine done nan astir demanding parts of my activity day. And nan acold showers? They're my concealed limb for staying crisp and focused.

It's not astir creating a analyzable system. It's astir uncovering what useful and sticking to it religiously. Some entrepreneurs get caught up successful elaborate fittingness plans aliases utmost diets. I'm not consenting successful that. My onslaught is simple: support moving, enactment disciplined and comprehend to your body.

The result? A accordant power level that allows maine to tackle those agelong days without burning out. When you're moving a startup, that's worthy its weight successful gold.

Perhaps nan highest added worthy of specified routines is that they destruct nan petition for further decision-making. Even nan astir mundane decisions — what should I eat? What should I wear? Should I spell to nan gym? It takes a batch retired of you. Eliminating them from your regular itinerary frees you up to attraction connected value-added activities.

Related: How to Maximize Every Hour of Your Day for Unstoppable Productivity

Putting it each together

This systematic onslaught has allowed maine to debar burnout and ever bring my A-game, whether it's an early-morning squad standup aliases a late-night investor call.

All of nan supra is mixed pinch different productivity practices, specified arsenic journaling and mindfulness. However, these are overmuch wide and geared toward wide productivity alternatively than surviving those agelong days.

Of course, life and business will inevitably propulsion a spanner successful nan works. Business trips and unpredictable events tin disrupt moreover nan astir cautiously crafted routines and practices. That said, it's basal to admit these arsenic nan exceptions they are and do your utmost to support — aliases return to — nan regular arsenic soon arsenic possible.