How to know when to stop

Office hours are the standard measure of the number of hours you’ll work where there’s a “butt in a seat,” i.e. actual work being done. We tend to work more office hours as our career progresses toward the peak.  Mind hours are the number of hours that your mind and nervous system are preoccupied with work because of the stresses of it.

Nonetheless, as someone who was conditioned to always aim for the top, like many high achievers in the world of tech, I was having a hard time reconciling the limitations of my health with my professional ambitions... s o I created a framework to do so. It has three parts: Define your personal range of tolerancePick your career progressionPick your... See more

“Who exactly are these people that you want to be admired by? Aren’t they the same people you are in the habit of calling crazy? And is this your life ambition, then—to win the approval of lunatics?”—Epictetus

Staying within a range of acceptable tolerance in your life should be the goal, so that you flourish in all dimensions, not just the professional. Taking on too much pushes us into zones of intolerance, where very little life can be sustained.

We must remember that when we approach our lives as if we have a limitless range of tolerance, or that our tolerance must be the same as our peers, we’re pursuing our life and our work in an inevitably unsustainable way. We’re all unique. Our biology, our circumstances, experiences, and the environment we are in will influence our range of toleranc... See more