In everything we do, there's a point of diminishing returns. Working ridiculously long hours is an example. We can't perform like machines: we’re made out of meat, not metal. And even machines need time off for preventative maintenance and overhaul. After eight hours of work, fatigue can contribute to mistakes that you have to spend even more time correcting, which is counterproductive indeed. Even more so, you risk pushing yourself over the edge of your endurance and suffering health-related illnesses. 

The Pain of Overachievement

My goal here isn't to tell you how to achieve a decent work/life balance, just to argue for its value. Even you up-and-comers trying to impress your first manager need to take it easy sometimes. My advice is this: achieve, but don't overachieve. I know this sounds odd coming from someone who's built her career on helping people maximize productivity, but this advice will help you do that in the end.

Why? Aside from the health issues I've mentioned, you’ll face social issues when pushing yourself to overachieve: you obviously can’t spend much time with loved ones if you work 14 hours a day. Overwork can create problems at work as well. If you raise your boss’s expectations by working 60-80 hour weeks, she might feel the bite if you cut back to 40-50 hours. 

Another thing we can't get around are our temporal limits. You're probably heard it said so often it's become cliché, but we all have the same amount of time per day, rich or poor, great or small; what matters is how we discipline ourselves to use it. One of the more binding (but often least obvious) of our time restraints are opportunity costs. Whenever you say "yes" to something, you're saying "no" to something else. Life is a series of tradeoffs.

Beware of what you trade away. Too much time spent at work limits the amount of time left over for family, health care, exercise, and leisure, not to mention the social opportunities that can come with all of the above. Never trade away time with loved ones; they will be there even when your job isn’t. Give yourself permission to live as well as work, or you may live to regret it.

You Matter

Yes, work is important, and I hope you love what you do. A truly blessed person is the one who can put his feet on the floor each morning, excited about the workday ahead. But you are just as important. Workaholism may have its rewards, but it also has its penalties. Corporate/employee loyalty isn't what it once was. What if all those 60-70 hour weeks end in a layoff notice when it's convenient for the company? Where will you be then? What's left of your family and personal life? Your health? If you built your life around work, possibly nothing; but if you build work around your life, it's easier to bounce back. 

Choose to build a reasonable work/life balance now, or gamble with your future. Learn the real path to productivity: trimming the fat from your schedule. There's plenty of time in the day, if you focus on what matters and put your nose to the grindstone. Work hard, produce amazing results, and get out of the office on time.

Want to learn more success secrets for winning at work? Visit salesforce.com or download the free e-book.