[PeterWhittaker]

Some of the really productive people I know fall into either or both of two camps: 1) ruthlessly focused (often with understanding, supporting spouses who accept that they will enjoy only a small portion of their partner's time) and/or 2) sleep freaks who need only a few hours a night.

A friend of mine is the latter: We have about the same drive, intellect, and motivation, as far as I can tell from working together, from long talks over beer, etc. But he needs about 4 hours a night, I need 8-9. That gives him several extra days a week, compared to me. Even if he only takes advantage of "one day", that still puts him 20+% ahead of me.

I also know several people in camp #1, some of whom are on second or third spouses, very few of whom are still with original partners.

There is a third camp, the rarest of them all: Focused but balanced. They get a normal amount of sleep, switch from rest to work mode and back again immediately, and when in work mode are focused and productive the whole time. They are the ones I try to emulate, at least to some extent.