I recently had a startling realization: in a single day, the 375 or so people in my organization put in more work hours than I do in an entire year.

It's an odd place to be for an entrepreneur who is used to the idea that if I want the business to perform better, all I have to do is find a way to work more late nights or weekends. But once you get a business off the ground, at some point you find your role has changed: You're not a doer, you're a leader. And that's a very different job than the entrepreneurial one that probably got you where you are.

This doesn't just apply to entrepreneurs or leaders of very large teams. Even if you manage a team of just 10 people, that group will put in the equivalent of two weeks of your work in a single day.

As a leader, the most important thing you can do is decide how your team should be spending their resources. It's less about sheer effort, and more about setting the right strategy and making the right decisions. The impulse to work 70- or 80-hour weeks that made you successful may now actually impair your judgment, causing you to direct the resources of your team in inefficient ways.

When your decisions are driving the productivity and success of your company and your team, it's worth investing the time and energy needed to make sure your decisions are good. And the first step toward doing that is taking care of yourself. You can't make good decisions when you run yourself into the ground with stress and work.

Read the complete Forbes.com article to learn tips to boost your productivity.

Instant Insights /

Feeling Maxed Out? Productivity Advice For People Who Want To Do It All

Related Stories

Recommended For You