Badges of honour

Working long hours is not something to be proud of. There's a bunch of sadomasochistic idiots out there who wear working hard on their sleeves as a badge of honour. Here's the truth: if you're proud of being in the office until 2am so that your boss can take home a bigger bonus than you, then you're a schlep! There are smarter ways to work, ways to outsource and get help.

I'm in banking too, so I get it - there are times when you've just got to do what it takes. But that should be the exception, not the norm. Here's the first few steps that should see you leave the office at a reasonable time:

1. Make a "to-do" list first thing in the morning. Make sure the first 3 things absolutely have to get done, no matter what. Make everything else a "nice to have".


2. Find juniors, secretaries, etc., to get on with the tasks that rank below 3. People like being empowered and given responsibility and often rise to the challenge - you never know, they may surprise you with the quality of their work.


3. Make sure you stick to getting the first 3 tasks on your list done. Do whatever it takes - even if that means ignoring your phonecalls and email. And whatever you do, DO NOT play with that damn blackberry!


4. At 6pm, if the first three tasks are done, then go home. The others are probably well progressed given you have delegated, so forget them. Ask about their progress first thing the next morning. Remind yourself that life goes on without you - after all, you're not constantly on the phone to pilots to tell them how or where to land, you're not telling doctors where to cut people open, and you're not telling chefs just how much cinnamon to use. So let the world do its thing so you can do yours!


5. Go home and use your extra time to re-connect with your old hobbies, spouse, net surfing, whatever...