September 9, 2007
On the importance of slacking
There's a good article on the igda website on the well known, but often ignored fact that long work hours don't improve productivity.
Like many other things, I find that this applies equally to programming and translation. Due to the nature of my work as a translator, I often work odd hours. Maybe 10 to 12 hours a day for a few days at a stretch, then 3 to 4 hours for the next couple of days.
What I've found over the years is that you always pay for long hours in the end. If I put in a few 12-hour days, I will inevitably veg for a day or two after that. It used to make me feel guilty to be slacking like that, and I'd sit around at the computer, not getting much done.
Now, I've come to accept that I can only work productively so many hours a week, so when the slack bug hits me I go with it and make sure it's quality slacking. Like going to the beach instead of futzing around on the Web… That way, when I do get back to work I'll be all the more productive for the break I've had.
One thing that's essential for this strategy is not to schedule too much work. Just because you'll have Thursday and Friday free after working long hours to make a Wednesday deadline doesn't mean you should fill up Thursday and Friday too!
