These are my rules for working hours. I recommend them. This presumes a salary job that probably has you sitting in front of a computer or in meetings most of the time. Maybe it’s even remote and you work from home.

Rule 1: Work 8 hours per day.

Pick your times. I like 9-5. I start work at 9. I stop work at 5. The rest is my time.

But sometimes, work gets tough and you need to put in extra. So when you can’t follow Rule 1…

Rule 2: Work 40 hours per week.

If you work extra one day, take that time back on another day soon after. Sleep in tomorrow, you’ve earned it!

But of course, there’s always deadlines and weeks that go bad. Sometimes you don’t fit everything into a 40 hour week and that’s okay because when you can’t follow Rule 2…

Rule 3: Average 40 hours per week each month.

You went nuts and did a 60 hour week last week. You hit that deadline. Awesome. You know what you’re doing this week? Taking it easy. Take those hours back- they’re yours. Maybe take Thursday and Friday off- and no, that’s not vacation, that’s earned time, thanks very much.

But if Rule 3 can’t be followed…

Rule 4: Talk to your management about how you can, together, reduce your work hours and load.

Most managers do not want to see their people burn out. They’re human beings with empathy who care about you and want to see you succeed. Jobs are a long-term marathon, not just a short-term sprint. Go to them and show them your numbers: you put in this many hours last month, and the month before, and it’s more than you can handle.

To quote a good friend in a presentation he made to his management once: “Vince is not an infinitely scalable resource!”

And if they aren’t willing to fix it, and Rule 4 isn’t working…

Rule 5: Start job hunting.

You deserve better. Go find it. Maybe you’ll get paid less somewhere else, but divide that salary by the number of hours you need to put in to get it. On an hourly rate, are you still making more than you would anywhere else? I doubt it.

Work to Live, Don’t Live to Work

When I was a pretty junior dev, I lived to work.

I spent all my time thinking about work and tech. I read HackerNews more than the actual news. On vacations, it took me 4 to 5 days to stop thinking about work, so even a one-week trip was only really a short escape. And sure, I was learning a lot, but I wasn’t living a lot. My entire social life was “drinks after work”, mostly with coworkers, where we’d talk about work and tech. I dreamed about programming.

How dull is that?

Lessons from a Wiser Man

My first sign that things could be better came when a new coworker started on my team. I’ll call him Matt- not his real name, though he’d probably not care if I used his.

Matt didn’t really care about programming, or tech.

To be clear, he was a great developer. Worked hard, learned a lot as he went, led people, got promotions that were well earned.

He showed up every day at around 9 and left every day at around 5. In between, he earned his keep.

But at the end of the day, Matt walked out the door and became his real self. And that person was not a tech guy. He was a husband, a dad, and I presume had a social life that didn’t involve very many coworkers. But he left that self at the door when he walked in, and he left us at the office when he walked out.

He seemed a lot happier for it.

It took me a few years to realize how much he was onto something.

What’s The Point?

I have no idea. But it feels good to write down those rules. Some might say that posting something like that while job hunting is going to reduce the number of companies interested in me. If it does, I’m glad for it.