When I blogged about Work Tunnel Vision, a friend of mine promptly called me a hypocrite. Well…this is true from one perspective.

I have to defend my workaholism by saying that it’s anatomy does not resemble other peoples’ workaholic schedules. For example, a normal workaholic schedule looks something like this:

7 AM – 8 AM : Wake up get ready for work
8 AM – 7 PM : Work (with possibly a small lunch break)
7 PM – 8 PM : Dinner with the family and perhaps a second of TV
8 PM – 12 PM : Back at work or laptop is on

This type of schedule is ultra-lame. You are spending too much time focused on one company (or one stream of revenue), and you are not fully engaged with your family while you are there.

Although I do work a lot, I do have a few ground rules that I must live by:

1. 5-6 hours of sleep is necessary for me to be productive the next day
2. The hours of 5 PM – 9 PM are dedicated to my family
3. I will only work a maximum of 8 hours a day on any one revenue stream
4. I will dedicate 3 lunch hours a week to physical activity or the gym
5. I will spend at least 1 hour a day learning something new
6. Only an average of 1 hour of TV a day (if that)

These rules and regulations are what allow me to be more balanced in my workaholic schedule. I admit – I love working – but I also have to be sure and stay balanced about it.

Probably the least obvious one of these rules is the one about only working 8 hours a day on one revenue stream. There are exceptions, but this one is huge.

Think about it – even in the most rewarding of companies lets say that you put in 80 hours a week. Your base salary is 75k a year, but your efforts get you an additional 50k a year in bonuses for a cool 125k a year. You are losing money! Just go and get another 75k a year job and work that if you are going to hold down the equivalent of 2 full time jobs!

Furthermore, in the above scenario you are doing nothing to make Passive Income. In order to make “real” chunks of change, you have to create opportunities for yourself to make money. As developers these opportunities are endless! Here are just some ideas:

• Blogs that are monetized
• Affiliate programs and websites
• eBay stores
• eCommerce stores that use drop-shipping
• Becoming a part-time PPC/SEO consultant
• Selling online training material about your hobby (for example, let’s say you are also a dog trainer)

There are tons of possibilities on the internet to make cash without trading your time at a ratio 1:1.

So what does my schedule look like? (lets use my non-morning schedule):

7 AM – 8 AM : Wake up, get ready for work, read RSS feeds while eating
8 AM – 11 PM : Work
11 PM – 12 PM : Gym
1 PM – 5 PM : Work
5 PM – 9 PM : Family (make dinner, visit, take dog for walk, *maybe* watch a TV show)
9 PM – 11 PM : Work on internet marketing adventures
11 PM – 12 AM : Blog(s) writing
12 AM – 1 AM : Read a book or more RSS

The most important aspect about this schedule is that if I decide to call the day quits at 9 PM – I can. I have no obligation to work on side businesses, nor do I have to sacrifice time from my family.

Trying to understand the 8-5 mentality is hard for a lot of people, but hopefully this breakdown of my schedule shows that you can be a workaholic, not be apathetic, spend more time with your family, and be wealthier all at the same time.

To your success!

Many developers suffer from a syndrome called WTV – Work Tunnel Vision. I will admit to being a workaholic, but reminding yourself that work is not everything needs to be a constant reminder to better mental health.

Inspiration Comes From Life

Ever hear the quote:

So deep in the forest he can’t see the trees

Most of life’s answers are hidden in the life around us. For example, where do you think I get all the analogies for this blog? I do not dream of making a post correlating software and socks, I am inspired by life around me.

Time away from work now and again can help you analyze your problems from different perspectives and thus refocus on your work problems with new solutions.

Realigns Priorities

Which is more important – making that fictitious deadline or watching your child play a board game?

Stepping away from work can help us realize what is truly important in life. In my line of work, will anyone be hurt if the “Print To PDF” feature is not done? No. Would anybody be hurt if I missed her school play? Yes.

Time away from work helps realign priorities, which in turn allows us to be more productive when we are at work. We know what has to be done before we go home, and we know what is more important, therefore we will work smarter and faster to accomplish it while we are there.

Recharges The Batteries

Nothing works on an empty fuel tank and that includes your body and soul. Ensuring that you do not focus all of your time and attention on work allows us to reenergize – the true key to productivity.

Being well rested both mentally and physically improves:

• Enthusiasm (Moral)
• Problem solving
• Concentration
• Communication
• Alertness
• etc…etc…etc…

In the end, it is easy for you to know when “enough is enough” but it is much harder to have the discipline to walk away. At minimum, once a week walk away from a situation that would otherwise hold your body and/or mind hostage for the day – you will feel just as alive if you were 16 playing hooky from school.

It appears everyone and their sister is at MIX 08 this year. Unfortunately, I will not be attending, alas the MIX conference will have to scramble for a new keynote speaker for yet another year.

Here are my Top 10 Reasons why I am happy to be staying at home:

10. The drinks are significantly cheaper in my closet

9.   I am not all that interested in computers, software, or the internet

8.   I despise gambling ever since I lost $200 last week playing blackjack

7.   Nothing ever good comes out of conferences but free swag

6.   I didn’t want to deprive my employer of sitting on his mountain of cash

5.   Keynotes by Guy Kawasaki are historical lame because he knows nothing about business or making money

4.   6.1° F is much better than 61° F

3.   The Blue Man Group scare me…with their fun…and music…and dancing…

2.   You don’t have to flash $100 bills to excite the strippers in Fargo, ND (they are happy you braved the weather to come out)

1.   The secretive altnetpursefight author and I can now finally hangout together in public without worrying about being seen