We do it because it's the most visible form of productivity.
It is a way to prove to others that you are doing stuff and checking things off the list.
MORE IDEAS FROM THE ARTICLE
Hard work is necessary in order to be productive, but there is such a thing as too much of a good thing.
At some point, you start to be negatively productive.
It means scheduling your time according to your natural rhythms:
Acquire new skills that will help you get more things done in less time.
One reason we work too hard is that we are using that hard work to make up for a lack of courage.
Example: Instead of firing the team member who is dragging down the project, we work harder to make up for them. Firing them takes courage.
RELATED IDEAS
Most goals are out of our control. We have limited control to reach them. In a system, your focus is on all the parts that you do control. And system is a fancy word for “repeatable process”.
For example: running a marathon is a goal, running 4 days a week for 30 minutes is a repeatable process.
Your interpretation of failure is preventing you from working.
Typical behaviours:
Solution: When you failed, you did not understand how much you actually learned. Take a day off to stop thinking.
When companies have more work than they can handle, they tend to ask, "Who will do this work?" But the better questions are:
Identify what can be automated, delegated or be replaced in favor of something else. Even if it only saves you a few minutes, it will add up over time.