Get your hustle on!…Kind of?

Bruce Arians, Arizona Cardinals’ Head Football Coach, champions using better time management skills over spending unproductive time at work.

Amid a 7-1 season and leading his NFL football division, Bruce Arians the Arizona Cardinals head football coach, believes in the old adage, “work smarter, not harder.” Arians had a long road to a head coaching job in the NFL, and he won’t change what he thinks leads to success-efficient time management. I’ve been arguing this point to my profession for years, the legal industry. Often other lawyers tell me they work 60-80 hour weeks and I wonder with what efficiency. Truth be told, my hours depend on several factors but I cannot in good faith tell you I can remember working a 60 hour week, so, am I lazy? Depends who you ask I suppose. But what about other industries, the medical field, academia, labor industries, etc. Does working long hours correlate to success?

According to some studies, time management is more important than counting hours at the workplace. Perhaps, a combination of strong time management skills and a requisite number of hours spent at a job, are both necessary for success. One thing is clear, there are examples demonstrating how one works is more important than spending countless and unproductive hours at the workplace. The debate will rage on, but in my own experience, I feel refreshed stepping away from a case while I spend time with my family or going to the gym. Sometimes, I even get inspired doing something non-legal, which leads to a breakthrough in a case.  I assume the same is true in other professions.

But I want to address the talkers, those that say they are getting their “hustle on!” Those who seek to convey to their stakeholders they are always working. But doesn’t that come across as unauthentic? Does anyone believe that someone can work 23 out of 24 hours a day? In this day of social media, where branding and perception are more important than ever, ostensibly many people, most of our own Facebook friends want to appear as though they are constantly being productive. It comes across as annoying bragging. Uses and Gratification theory explains why people chose to use media. Social media interaction seems to provide gratification to users whether their content is true or not.

When I spent time in Ibiza, a gentleman said we Americans, “live to work, while Europeans, work at living.” In all fairness, this is clearly a generalization, but there is some truth to it. It seems that here in the States, we’ve placed a premium on the appearance of having a strong work ethic. But a 7-1 record cited above, Steve Spurrier’s 1996 national title and other personal examples of success while maintaining balance in one’s life, show me time management is more important that appearing to work hard any day.

References

Crouse, K. (2014, November 7). Cardinals’ Bruce Arians took long route to top N.F.L. job. The New York Times. Retrieved November 7, 2014 from http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/08/sports/football/cardinals-bruce-arians-took-long-route-to-top-nfl-job.html?_r=0

DeMao, S. (2014). Business Today. Retrieved November 7, 2014 from http://www.businesstodaync.com/toolbox/1039-is-your-work-ethic-affecting-productivity

Keown, T. (2014, October 16). Bruce Arians knows only one way. Espn.com. Retrieved November 7, 2014 from http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/11704642/bruce-arians-arizona-cardinals-plans-coaching-nothing-lose

Taylor, H. (2013, January 4 posted on Youtube). Funny time management video.

Vaynerchuk, G. (2013). Jab, jab, jab, right hook: How to tell your story in a noisy, social world. New York:Harper Collins.

Young, A. (2010). Brand media strategy: Integrated communications planning in the digital era. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.