During my consulting days, I once worked 16-18 hours for two weeks straight, estimating the losses that US banks would suffer in the 2008 financial crisis.
This was a big project for the company since a lot of clients wanted to know this.
Finally, the presentation was done and when the D-Day came, we were nervous but excited. Dozens of company bigwigs dialed in from across the globe to listen in.
It was all going really well until I noticed that on one page of the presentation, one particular number was $200 billion while on another page, it was $250 billion. And very politely, and appreciatively, someone called it out. Yikes!
I had meant to delete one of the slides but I somehow missed it despite proofreading multiple times. This is what happens when you are numb.
This brain-dead work (‘zombie work’) does not create any value. And in many cases, it triggers horrible mistakes.
Today, most of us do knowledge work — we create value through good thinking, not by doing donkey’s labor. And good thinking only happens when you are mentally alert and focused.
Zombie work makes you feel burned out, causes mistakes, and eventually, you start hating your life.
Today, at HabitStrong, whenever I feel numb after a few hours of focused work, I take a break.
Because as an entrepreneur, all that matters is the real value I create — I don’t have any bosses to please.
– Rajan