Cancel Timesheets

This is an important historical tidbit.

The 8-hour work day is an artifact from the industrial age. It was implemented after we made laws against subjecting workers to abusive and dangerous situations in factories. To keep the factory producing 24-hours, industrialists created three 8-hour shifts.

We don't have to do that anymore.

Industrialized productivity isn't essential in the an age of creative and thought work. Many people now work in the world ideas and complex solutions. Idea processing is not the same as widget making. Idea implementation takes a more nuanced approach.

And time (hours worked in a day) is seldom the best way to measure performace.

We need to think less about "hours worked" and more about focus, energy, and relevance.

Too many spend eight hours every day in an email inbox and a slack channel. It feels like work. It looks mlike work to the casual onlooker.

Responsiveness is not work.

Sometimes my best work involves solutions that come while taking a long walk on a cold morning.

21st century work is a different era. Very few of the people reading this blog are punching a clock to assemble toasters for a living.

Leaders who manage other leaders in knowledge and creative work need to stop requiring time sheets and seek better ways to measure results.

Eight hours isn't a magic number. Sometimes it's 10. Other daus I can get the results I need in three.
But that means three things need to be at play.

Focus.
Energy Management.
Purpose.