The Truth About Hard Work
When young professionals asks you “how many hours should I work per week?” What do they mean? What is the real question they are asking?
When they are asking you, a mentor, a parent or a leader this question, it is rarely about the hours themselves. More often, they are asking deeper questions about priorities, success, and balance. One cannot be topical or philosophical and say “You folks are smart, you go figure out whatever feels better for you”. This is a appreciated, popular, non-answer. They are aware of that, they came to you, the mentor for a reason, to know your stance on it. To learn from you.
They want to know, from you, what it truly takes to excel in their field and whether success demands relentless sacrifice. They are seeking clarity on how to structure their time, validation on whether they are doing enough, and strategies to grow without burning out. Some are grappling with how to reconcile ambition with sustainability, while others are searching for your philosophy on balancing hard work with fulfillment. By recognizing these underlying questions, you can guide them beyond just managing hours and help them focus on building meaningful, impactful careers.
Also, what does work mean? Is it simply hanging around in the office, attending meetings, or responding to emails? Or is it the deliberate application of your mind to solve deep, meaningful problems? The distinction matters. Being physically present or busy does not equate to progress. Real work is about focus, creativity, and driving impact. It is the thoughtful, intentional effort that propels you forward, not the hours spent checking off tasks for the sake of activity. It also about up-skilling, extra curricular and learning that you put in to advance your career goals.
What if I told you that “smart work” is merely the baseline, a table stake, as essential and non-negotiable as hygiene? And beyond that, it might take 80+ hours a week to truly excel. I can already hear the outrage. You’ll call it archaic, label me clueless, a slave driver, workaholic, out of touch with life’s meaning, or worse, dismiss me outright. You’re ready to cancel and stir controversy. But pause for a moment. Set all of that aside and reconsider your question, your purpose, and your ambition. What are you really striving for? If your goal isn’t to achieve excellence in one of the most competitive arenas or to push boundaries beyond what most consider possible, then stop reading. This conversation is not for you. It doesn’t matter. But if it is, then perhaps it’s time to confront the hard truth about the cost of extraordinary achievement.
This is what I advise my kids. Life does not come at you with neatly packaged workweeks like a metronome or a staccato rhythm. There are sections that are long, relentless, intense, and grueling, and there are sections that are easier and slow. Success lies in navigating these fluctuations with emotional resilience and intention, knowing when to push through the challenges and when to recover and recalibrate.
What should truly matter is the urge, a huger to learn. Have you heard the mythical story of Ekalavya? The one who surpassed Arjuna not through privilege, but through relentless dedication and an unbreakable spirit? If not, I have written an account of it here: Ekalavya ~ The Unquenchable Inferno of Learning and Mastery. The wisdom in these mythical stories matters, they are ageless, timeless, and exist for a reason.
Working at a startup is fundamentally different from working in steady-state companies. Startups often demand bursts of intense effort where teams must solve problems rapidly, iterate continuously, and adapt to shifting priorities with minimal resources. These environments thrive on speed, creativity, and the ability to push beyond conventional boundaries.
On the other hand, established companies tend to offer more predictable workloads, structured processes, and a steadier pace. The nature of work in startups requires individuals to be comfortable with uncertainty and capable of enduring periods of intense focus, often stretching beyond traditional work hours. Understanding this distinction helps young professionals set realistic expectations and choose what they want and manage their energy accordingly.
Think about top physicists who spend countless hours grappling with equations, running experiments, and collaborating with peers to answer fundamental questions about the universe. Their breakthroughs are not about the number of hours alone but the intensity and intention behind their work. Or look at how Olympians train. They push themselves to their limits during periods of intense preparation but do not remain in overdrive endlessly. Their success lies in structured cycles of effort, recovery, and recalibration.
High-intensity periods are inevitable. You should build emotional resilience during these periods. Use them to stretch your capacity and test your boundaries. Rest is not a luxury. It is a deliberate strategy for sustaining peak performance. Excellence comes not from constant overdrive but from knowing when to push and when to recover. Effort that builds your future is different from effort that burns you out. After periods of intensity, make it a priority to carve space for refocusing, resting, and restoring your energy.
I tell my kids that mindfulness, meditation, mental health, spiritual health, family, friends, community, and society are not optional. They should be integral to your daily practice. These are not boxes to check or trends to follow; they are the anchors of a meaningful life. If you approach “work weeks” out of obligation or to escape a rat race, you have missed the point entirely. Embracing this balance is not about fitting into a mold. It is about confronting yourself deeply, internally, and intimately until you understand what truly matters to you. Without that clarity, everything else is noise.
The simplest, yet most profound, cliched truth is this: love what you do. When you truly love it, it stops being work. Balance becomes irrelevant because it all blends into life itself.
In life, you are always on the clock, whether you like it or not. It is about how you use those hours to shape your future, just as an excellent scientist pursues every insight or an athlete times every cycle of effort and recovery.
Remember, everything exists on a continuous spectrum, not a binary. You will always find yourself somewhere along the vast spectrum between hardcore excellence and mediocrity, shaped by the choices you make. You do not have to do anything or become anyone if you choose to as well. So what exactly is the real question you are asking and want to pursue?
While this blog is not about leadership, It is important for leaders to also focus on aligning the “why” before embarking on any journey of hard work within their orgs or projects. When individuals understand the deeper purpose behind their efforts, their energy becomes focused and their resolve stronger. Start by ensuring that the narrative of “why” is clear, why the work matters, why their contributions are valuable, and why it aligns with broader goals.
After the “why” is firmly rooted, the incentives for success must also be aligned. Incentives should not merely reward time spent but should recognize impact, creativity, and collaboration toward meaningful objectives. Misaligned incentives can create a culture of busyness instead of effectiveness. By aligning purpose and incentives, you enable individuals to channel their efforts in ways that are not only productive but also fulfilling, sustaining long-term growth and motivation.
While flexible/hybrid work, quarterly (team) bonus, year-end (org) bonus are all given, here is how I structure individual incentives in my org based on gradients:
- Frequent, Low Gradient: Gift Cards, Personalized Notes, Movie Tickets, Team Lunch/Dinner.
- Occasional, Medium Gradient: Time-Off, Concert or Event Tickets, Wellness Incentives, Upskilling Opportunities, Tech Gadgets.
- Rare, High Gradient: ESOPs/Equity, Paid Vacation Packages, Significant Bonuses, Exclusive VIP Experiences, Career Development.
I have 3 broad categories of recognition.
- Impact: Recognition for contributions that drive measurable results, solve critical problems, or directly advance organizational goals.
- Creativity: Recognition for original ideas, innovative solutions, or unique approaches that add value or inspire new directions (may not necessarily show impact right away). Sustaining this is super important, especially in research focused organizations.
- Collaboration: Recognition for fostering teamwork, building strong partnerships, and effectively collaborating across disciplines or teams to achieve shared objectives and drive collective success.