Many of us feel that the 40-hour work week is a dream.  Claims of working 60, 70, or 80 hours a week are common.  In 2006 the Harvard Business Review published an article referring to the 70-hour workweek, saying that jobs requiring this time input were the new standard for professionals.

Yet the reality is that we tend to over-exaggerate.  It may not be intentional, but we forget the actual time spent on tasks.  Rather than directly asking people how they spend their time, the American Time Use Survey (ATUS), published annually by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, has researchers more directly walking a person through the details of a day or having them fill out time diaries.

These diaries can be tedious to maintain but offer more accurate results.  There are discrepancies that surface.  In the 1990s, John Robinson compared people’s estimated work hours (40-44) with time-diary hours (36.2 hours).  The more work hours, the higher the discrepancy.  Estimating 60-64-hour weeks really averaged 44.2 hours.  Those in the 65-74 hour bracket clocked 58.2 hours.

One thing that may account for these discrepancies is the fact that we are often less productive than we could be during the day, so we stay later.  Although we may be in the office for 12 hours, that does not necessary equate with 12 hours of work.

The more we multitask and the more distractions that we allow into our days, the less we get done.  Even though it can be a “badge of honor” to show your importance through the hours spent on the job, it would be far better to employ good time management tools that let you leave at 5 p.m. instead of dragging out the day while you become less and less productive.