Working 60 hours a week is quite different as compared to 80 hours—the 20-hour difference is worth half of a regular workweek, so never neglect that fact.
It is also quite different given what sort of work we’re talking about. For example, sales reps in small stores that get 50 customers a month can spend 90% of their working hours browsing Facebook or talking on the phone with friends. You have probably seen that quite a few times yourself.
I’ve had 10-hour days of speaking non-stop while standing during some of my classes, and it’s much more exhausting than a 10-hour workday at the office working on a project, sending emails back and forth, researching some stuff, and experimenting with new tools and services.
I do support the “work hard, work smart” mantra. Some folks would bet on “work smart, not hard” by focusing on the right things within a limited amount of time.
This is why it also depends on what you consider as work.
As Jim Skinner mentioned, a 60-hour workweek is 12-hours worth of work on business days. Add an hour and a half for lunch/dinner breaks and you can easily start at 9 am and wrap up at 10:30 pm, investing the rest of the time in billable hours.
Other than that you can (if your work allows that) adjust your schedule depending on your business needs and productive hours. I had a tech lead in Australia working 60 hours a week who was surfing every afternoon and then picking up his kid from kindergarten. He was starting at 6 am and working on Saturdays, and simply spending 10 productive hours a day with “fun” breaks in-between plus recharging on Sundays.
Check out my book, “126 Steps to Becoming a Successful Entrepreneur: The Entrepreneurship Fad and the Dark Side of Going Solo” for a more comprehensive guide on entrepreneurship.
