A 60-Hour Work Week is Not a Badge of Honour
This false dichotomy is seriously getting annoying. If 60 hours is sustainable for you, do it. If only 30 hours is sustainable for you, do that instead. But stop imposing onto others what is right or wrong when there are <i>so</i> many factors at play.<p>Some of my most productive memories are summers studying and working for 12 hours a day, 6 days a week (= 72 hours). I didn't get tired, burned out, or anything. Another summer had me working at a company making "apps" for 40 hours a week, and it fucking drained me... despite taking <i>far</i> less intelligence and brain effort. I suppose that's not true, the brain effort was constantly justifying why I wasn't quitting haha.<p>Regarding friends/partners/etc. If the amount of hours you want to work isn't compatible with your partner's expectations... <i>get a new partner</i>. Seriously. Your priorities aren't aligned. I don't know what I'd do if my partner expected me to be home for dinner at 6pm on weeknights... Oh wait I do, I'd get a new partner, which I did. Now everyone involved (myself, previous partner, new partner) are very happy.<p>Finally regarding productivity vs. hours put in. Again, this is completely irrelevant if you're following the right metrics - <i>results</i>. Long hours obviously don't make sense if they're making you too tired to deliver results. If you're delivering but not in a sustainable way, well, you need to calibrate and lower expectations so you don't under deliver.<p>In short, people should optimize for long-term productivity appropriate to their goals. This, combined with your unique physiology and work circumstances, will dictate how many hours you should work. Oh and definitely exercise every week.