How long is too long?

Dear All,

I just wanted to share with you how many hour I myself work in front of my computer. From the time I wake up untill I become overly tired, I am at my pc. (tho i just got back into this biz)

All up I would say I have been doing 16 hours per day over the past few days. I forse myself to turn the screen off and goto bed at nights. Before I can remember going 32 hours then sleep 6 and start again, and my weeks became one complete day/ Tho the longest for me would have been June 1998 where I clocked nearly 43 hours and stopped only to pick up the phone and call a pizza delivery or use the bathroom. I was very sick the week after, thats how i can remember that date.

How long is too long?

I am interested in knowing how long is too long in spending time infront of your computer, how many hours a day do you think is enough.
Could you give reasons. I know money is our main reason, tho do some of you find this as a release, I find this a a release of my need to make something, to create something, a place to go with our minds? We are all creative people who want a slice of the pie.

Lastly, can one become so tied up with this desire to make something that we let our loved one slip on by? So please remember to ask yourself "How long is too long!"



Kind Regards

Mark

[fish]

i went through that stage as well. as soon as i wake up, i go straight to the computer. i didn't attend my classes, didn't talk to anyone, except on chatrooms and message boards. i failed a few classes, the electricity bill went way up (but it's ok since my mom pays for it), plus my girlfriend for 2 years broke up with me.

it was a fucked up stage, but hey, it was ok for me that time since i got lots of big checks from ccbill. the downside was after i cashed all my checks, i didn't have anything to spend it on. i didn't go out, i didn't have a girlfriend to buy gifts for, etc. i quit the biz for a few months after that. i focused on my studies, got back with my girlfriend (although we broke up again for a different reason), started going out with my friends again and tried to fix my life.

the only reason i got back to the biz again is i didn't have any money left.

i think you can consider it "too much" when you know you're fucking up your life but still go for it just for the sake of it. if you become a slave to the computer, you're fucked up.

[Panky]

It's a personal choice. Everyone has goals they want to accomplish, dreams they want to make happen. How they do this, is up to them. No one else.

Some people are work-a-holics. They choose to put the long hours in. Sometimes, they miss out on the family things. Sometimes, the only thing they have is their work. So 16-18 hours a day works for them.

Other people somehow balance work, family, and fun. They have a schedule they set for themselves. (X) amount of hours of work per day for 5 days. Weekends off. The weekends are then free to spend with family, go out for drinks...

Too long, is when you are not having any fun at doing what you are doing. When your job becomes a chore. Something you don't like to do, it just needs done. Everyone needs to take a break and enjoy some of the fruits of their labor.

Too long, is when your health starts to deteriorate, not because of "getting older", but because of neglect.

The schedule you set for yourself is a personal choice. It's a delicate balance between what needs to be done, how fast you want to achieve your goals and fulfill your dreams, and living life. Only you know the schedule that will make you happy. What works for one person, will not make someone else happy.