How Do You Want To Work: Sprint or Marathon?
Olympic steeplechase from London 2012. Image from flickr Michael Jones
Where are you with your work today? Would you describe your hours, energy, style as being in a sprint or a marathon? With a sprint, it’s an intense focus where you put in all your energy to burst over the finish line. The marathon is a longer, more sustainable effort where you pace yourself so you don’t burnout. Or perhaps, it’s neither. Instead, it might be something inbetween like a steeplechase — not an event with horses, but the 3000 meter run around a track with hurdles and water obstacles—which I only learned about from watching the recent Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
I have no judgements, being in a sprint or a marathon *can* be the perfect right place for work right now as long as you’re intentionally making the choice.
Starting a New Job
Many of my clients are starting new jobs. The first 30/60/90 days of a new job or even the first three to six months are going to be sprints. It’s a completely new situation to get used to. You don’t yet understand the company processes and culture, how to work with the people around you, or the new domain space that you’re jumping into. Routines are shaken up. And it’s even more difficult to adjust when you’re onboarding remotely without the in-person camaraderie or happenstance conversations in the kitchen.
A sprint is a short-lived burst of intense investment in your work time and energy. Several of my clients are in this phase of starting a new job where they know they must put in longer hours and more brain activity. They also know that this period will lessen and get more comfortable in three to six months.
They’ve intentionally chosen to hustle and grind for a short period because it’s worth the tradeoff to show up and establish their reputation at a new company. And they’ve established an end point for this sprint.
The First Two Years of a New Business
For other people, this sprint mentality may be for a longer period of time, perhaps even years. This First Round article shares the work hours of startup CEO Sam Corcos. With horror, I scanned his seven-day work week calendar and his weekly working hours—one rare low of 45 hours, more common are the highs of 100+ hours. Yet beneath my instant recoil of judgement, it’s clear that this is the right choice for him. Sam shares:
When you sign up for the role of CEO at a startup, you should know what you’re getting yourself into. Most of the time, it’s an all-consuming job, though some people are able to do it while maintaining more “life” in their work-life balance. The goal of this piece isn’t to glorify working to the point of burnout — but don’t expect it to be a normal desk job.
Sam writes as a thoughtful, self-aware leader looking to share his experiences and optimizations to help other leaders in the necessity of fast-paced, intense jobs. For him, it sounds like he has the capacity and tradeoffs to approach his work like an extended sprint. And by that point in time, perhaps an extended sprint automatically becomes a marathon.
If your work style feels like a sprint, make sure that you know when the finish line is. An extended sprint is not sustainable for most of us.
A Comfortable Ten Years at One Company
Some of my other clients came to me because they had spent seven to ten years at their existing company. They had risen through the ranks with the appropriate title, salary, and respect. Yet after the years — and the marathon of enjoyable work with the single company— they were bored. They were comfortable with the pace and the work / life balance it offered. They loved their boss and adored the teams they had built up. But something was missing. Their energy was slowing down and they simply felt like they needed a trigger of excitement. It was the right time to do something new.
They were in a marathon, but wanted to stop running and switch up the pace. Some people choose to interview and find another company. Others look for new responsibilities or positions within the same company. They intentionally decided that they wanted to get off the marathon path and choose something new.
If your work style is a marathon, know when it’s appropriate to pick up the pace and switch things up.
What’s Your Sustainable Pace?
The definitions of sprint or marathon or steeplechase aren’t what matters the most. More important is to set the intention to decide “What’s your sustainable pace?” And to also be aware of the tradeoffs you’re making to other aspects of your life.
Many people start a new job thinking that they’re in a short-term sprint to prove themselves. Sometimes they fall into the pattern of working extended sprint hours and before they know it, they’re unconsciously trapped in a state of busyness, overwhelm, and burnout. They look for a change and sometimes instead of looking for their own sustainable pace, will quit and jump to the next job.
Instead, truly ask yourself what work pace are you choosing today and why you’re doing the work you do.
Bottom-Line
What race metaphor best encapsulates your work today or this week? If you’re in a sprint, name it as one, and clearly identify when the sprint will end. If you’re in a marathon, know when you want to switch up the pace.. Make space to be intentional about how you work. And perhaps, it’s actually a bit of everything and you can call it a steeplechase.