[twobyfour]

The first few days of working longer hours, I get a ton done. By day 10 of working 55-hour weeks I'm about as productive as I was doing 40 hours. By day 15, I'm getting less done in 55 hours than I do in 30 hours when not burnt out.

Nowadays, working long days is something I do a few days a month when stuff happens to pile up that will slow other people down if I don't complete it.

I recommend thinking more about why you're not productive in the hours you're working. My solution to excessive distractions was to switch my schedule two hours earlier. I now get a solid 2-plus hours of uninterrupted concentration every morning before the office begins to fill up. Then I spend a few hours doing things that require interfacing with other people. And if I'm lucky I get a few more concentration hours later in the day too. I also work from home whenever possible to minimize distractions - those days are blissfully productive.