Here’s a secret: The world’s most successful people worked less than you do.
Many of us believe a strange lie that more hours worked means more success (and more money). While it’s easy to believe this, it’s simply not true.
Don’t believe us? All you have to do is look to the daily routines of the world’s most creative, and successful, people. Let’s examine a few:
- Hemingway: He’d get up early in the morning and write until lunch. After lunch, he’d enjoy his day. Writing was, for the most part, a morning affair.
- Darwin: He intertwined short, intense bursts of deep work in between long walks, meals with his wife, and reading.
- Beethoven: He woke up early, worked until noon (or a bit later), and spent the rest of his days enjoying life.
This trend continues in most lists of creative and successful people. Most of them didn’t work for more than 5, 6, or 7 hours in a day. Those 12-hour work days you hear about on Twitter? They’re not used by many of the world’s most productive people.
What does this mean?
We’re not telling you to be lazy. Those ad campaigns won’t get moving with your help. But, we’re saying that most people––you included, probably––aren’t wired to work a 9-to-5.
As Sahil Bloom puts it, you should work like a lion: “Sprint when inspired, rest, repeat.”
Be a smarter marketer
As a final note, this work style is especially possible in marketing. That’s because marketing is intense knowledge work: Instead of running a marathon from 9 to 5, try sprinting and resting. We think you’ll like it.
And of course, keep reading Stacked Marketer.
