RE: work week

Hello everyone,

I agree with jt. Long hours don't necessarily equate to more work getting done. 
I was a consultant/contract programmer for about 7 years. I tried to bill 6 to 
8 hours a day at my primary client (sometimes I only got in 4) because I was 
involved in other IT and non-it things away from that client. At first their 
was some concern by the client that I wouldn't make the deadlines. However, the 
opposite happened. I was more productive than most programmers even though they 
put in more than 8 hours a day. Part of the reason is that I am more 
experienced than all the programmers and work hard to keep up with technology 
changes in my industry. But I believe more of it had to do with some of the 
things that jt mentioned such as taking time to relax, exercise, and generally 
get away from the IT grind. Recently, I have taken a full-time position with 
this same company and although it is harder to cut out after a 4-hour day, I am 
still able to put in less hours (40) than the rest of the gang (who put in 45 - 
60) and still be more productive. Again, is it because I am a super programmer? 
Not necessarily. Yes, I have been doing this stuff for a long time, but so have 
many of the rest of the staff. It is likely that I have more hours "in the 
zone", or at least a higher percentage of hours "in the zone" because I try to 
balance my life with work, family, and play. So with all that said, let's push 
for a 3-hour work day. Who's with me? :)

Kevin Vandever