Work Harder, Not Longer

The Posse

In a speech to Rodale publishing, legendary copywriter Eugene Schwartz used a story about how posses chased criminals in the old west as an analogy on how to be productive.

In the old west, the bad guy would ride his horse for an hour and then walk it for hour. The posse would ride their horses for an hour and then walk their horses for an hour.

Why didn’t the bad guy ride for longer and make his getaway? Why didn’t the posse ride longer to catch up and snag the bad guy? Because if they overworked their horses, they would ruin all chances of success.

Work Harder, Not Longer

Schwartz believed in working harder than anyone else: harder, not longer. He worked for three hours a day: Three highly intense hours.

Schwartz also worked on more than one project at a time. For example: the first hour would be on project one, the second hour on project two, and the third hour on project three. This prevented overwork on any one project. Another benefit was that while he was busy working consciously on one project his subconscious mind had other projects to work on.

He also operated more than one business at a time. He wrote long-sales copy for Rodale, he operated his own direct-mail firm, he wrote his own books, and he was a famous art collector.

What about you? Do you overwork yourself? Do you have any tips and tricks for working harder and smarter? Let me know what you think in the comments section.