The first newsletter article I saw in my inbox this morning was about a 9 a.m.to 9 p.m., six days a week work schedule. I had never heard of this before, but was instantly intrigued as to which billionaire entrepreneur was advocating for such insanity. Cue falling down the rabbit hole that is Google.
I found out that “996,” as it’s called, is a common work practice among China’s tech companies and start-ups. But it hit my newsfeed this morning because Jack Ma, the billionaire founder (called it!) of Alibaba, is being criticized for advocating for 996, saying, “If you don’t put out more time and energy than others, how can you achieve the success you want?” However, he also said it shouldn’t be forced.
Yes and yes.
Most people don’t achieve success by doing the bare minimum. (Success comes in many forms, but for the sake of this argument let’s just assume it means you’re an entrepreneur rapidly growing your business or an employee quickly climbing the ladder.) It’s those early mornings, late nights, lunch-at-your-desk, working-from-the-floor-of-an-airport moments that are going to get you there.
But it also shouldn’t be forced. Someone asked me the other day, “You know you don’t have to run marathons, right?” If someone made me run them, I’d probably hate them. But I run them because I want to, so I’m all in — blood, sweat, tears, sore quads, and all. If someone made me work 996, I’d probably quit. But if I choose to do it — or even 995 or 994 — that’s on me. I’m putting in those hours because I care enough about what I do that I want to do it well. I’m sure some workplace psychiatrist would have deeper insight into why people think this way, but on the surface, it makes sense.
As I read more about this, something Ma wrote resonated with me more than anything else: “Real 996 should be spending time learning, thinking, and for self-improvement.”
A Forbes contributor responded with, “You don’t have to spend all of those hours literally working at your desk, but rather putting work into yourself—whether that means reading a self-help book, attending networking events, going to the gym or meditating to clear your mind. As long as you put in the effort to push yourself forward, you are making productive use of your time and energy by Ma’s standards.”
PREACH. And insert all the love for self-care and self-improvement routines. By those standards, consider me on the 697 schedule — 6 a.m. to 9 p.m., seven days a week. While I’m trying to get a better routine in place, I’m usually awake at 6 and doing something to prepare myself mentally for the day. It honestly could be lying in bed for another 30 minutes laughing at dog memes (follow @doggocom) or going for a run. I put in my hours at Fish and, around 6, I’m usually downstairs catching up with Todd, who’s already been home for 90 minutes. We chat about the news, cook, have some wine, watch stupid TV, I check in on emails, and then around 9 I’m winding down. My 697 is full of hard work with the necessary recovery, so I can wake up tomorrow and do it all over again.
It’s similar to running a marathon, actually. You wake up early, prep for the race, run the race, then spend the rest of the afternoon and evening self-care-ing like you’ve never self-cared before. And, honestly, if my legs would cooperate and my knees wouldn’t shatter, I could probably do that every day.
Because no one is making me do it and I find joy in doing it. And during those 26.2 miles there’s a hell of a lot of learning, thinking, and self-improvement.
