I was 24 when Bronto started hiring experienced people for senior roles circa 2005. I felt bitter that the new people left the office at 5pm on the dot every day, especially considering that they were making way more money than me.
Now I'm 32, have two kids, and try to be home by 5:30 most days. I've come to realize a few things:
- Work is a piece of cake compared to parenting young children.
- Your co-workers with young children are exhausted.
- Your co-workers that leave at 5pm (probably) work just as hard and care just as much as you.
- The 5pm hard stop makes me more productive during normal working hours.
- Productivity is more important than time spent working, in the office or otherwise.
- You don't get paid well for being experienced, you get paid well for producing results.
- 7am coffee meet ups are just as cool and just as productive as 7pm beers.
- The secret to maximizing weeknight family time is putting down my phone when I walk in the door.
- I'm exhausted by 9pm, so I work on easy stuff at night. I do my heavy lifting in the morning.
What time do you leave the office? Any hacks that you can share?