It Doesn't Have to Be Crazy at Work

Happiness is shipping: finishing good work, sending it off, and then moving on to the next idea.

The best companies aren’t families. They’re supporters of families. Allies of families. They’re there to provide healthy, fulfilling work environments so that when workers shut their laptops at a reasonable hour, they’re the best husbands, wives, parents, siblings, and children they can be.

Accept that better ideas aren’t necessarily better if they arrive after the train has left the station. If they’re so good, they can catch the next one.

Without a fixed, believable deadline, you can’t work calmly.

Taking someone’s time should be a pain in the ass. Taking many people’s time should be so cumbersome that most people won’t even bother to try it unless it’s REALLY IMPORTANT!

The answer isn’t more hours, it’s less bullshit. Less waste, not more production. And far fewer distractions, less always-on anxiety, and avoiding stress.

All subject-matter experts at Basecamp now publish office hours.

The whole purpose of a vacation is to get away. To not only be somewhere else entirely, but to think about something else entirely. Work should not be on your mind. Period.

Whenever someone joins (or leaves) a team, the old team is gone. It’s a new team now. No matter the group, every personnel change changes the dynamics.