The billable hour is a trap into which more and more of us are falling
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Re: The billable hour is a trap into which more and more of us are falling
#2> But I don’t think I’m over-romanticising to suggest that just as there is something psychologically corrosive about the fact that the lawyer can always bill another six minutes, there is something psychologically healthy about the fact that the farmer can sometimes rest assured that there is nothing useful to be done until the morning.
This sense of a “forced” break from work, reminds me of the Jewish concept of the Sabbath.
You were literally forbidden from productive work, 1 day a week.
So this forced time for reflection, spiritual care, and time with family.
Re: The billable hour is a trap into which more and more of us are falling
#3I'm just going to say that the billable hour sucks in accounting and I hope i never have to keep (to lie) on a timesheet again for awhile to meet the "budget."
Re: The billable hour is a trap into which more and more of us are falling
#4> But I don’t think I’m over-romanticising to suggest that just as there is something psychologically corrosive about the fact that the lawyer can always bill another six minutes, there is something psychologically healthy about the fact that the farmer can sometimes rest assured that there is nothing useful to be done until the morning. This sense of a “forced” break from work, reminds me of the Jewish concept of th…
"were"? There's still Jews who do this of course!
Re: The billable hour is a trap into which more and more of us are falling
#5> But I don’t think I’m over-romanticising to suggest that just as there is something psychologically corrosive about the fact that the lawyer can always bill another six minutes, there is something psychologically healthy about the fact that the farmer can sometimes rest assured that there is nothing useful to be done until the morning. This sense of a “forced” break from work, reminds me of the Jewish concept of th…
"were"? There's still Jews who do this of course!
Related: Bring Back the Sabbath (https://thezvi.wordpress.com/2017/10/07/bring-back-the-sabba...)
Re: The billable hour is a trap into which more and more of us are falling
#6I've been paid high hourly wages to build software and you definitely start to look at every minute of non-billable time as, "I could have made X in these 3 hours I spent relaxing." Leads to overwork. There's a healthy balance but took me a while to find it.
Re: The billable hour is a trap into which more and more of us are falling
#7I've been paid high hourly wages to build software and you definitely start to look at every minute of non-billable time as, "I could have made X in these 3 hours I spent relaxing." Leads to overwork. There's a healthy balance but took me a while to find it.
Exactly in the same spot, I've recently gone freelance where I'm paid by the hour and I've yet to take a holiday cause I always think this week of holiday will cost me $$$ (huge amount of money compared to what a normal one week holiday would cost).
Sadly, I will probably burnout soon and ignore that thought.
Re: The billable hour is a trap into which more and more of us are falling
#8I've been paid high hourly wages to build software and you definitely start to look at every minute of non-billable time as, "I could have made X in these 3 hours I spent relaxing." Leads to overwork. There's a healthy balance but took me a while to find it.
Exactly in the same spot, I've recently gone freelance where I'm paid by the hour and I've yet to take a holiday cause I always think this week of holiday will cost me $$$ (huge amount of money compared to what a normal one week holiday would cost). Sadly, I will probably burnout soon and ignore that thought.
I used charge hourly years ago. I had the same problem where taking a holiday made me think about losing money.
Now I charge a monthly rate based on the number of days a week I work (roughly equating one month to 4 weeks, granted they're not but it makes life easier).
Now I don't worry about taking time off because once I've clocked my days for that week I'm done I won't get paid more. It also means you know exactly what your income will be each month which is handy for budgeting.
Re: The billable hour is a trap into which more and more of us are falling
#9I’ve moved away from billable hours and gone to a fixed-fee retainer block. Clients get up to X hours per week at a single price regardless of what they use. This scopes engagements more tightly and results in a natural prioritization of time where I’m most impactful and offloads busywork or meetings where I won’t be productive.
As a result I can handle more business and be more effective for my clients, while actually reducing the overall cost of an engagement and charging a higher effective hourly rate. So far results have been excellent.
Edit: I consult as an interim CMO/VP Marketing for mid to late stage tech companies, typically focusing on accelerating growth or guiding companies through big changes in strategy.
Re: The billable hour is a trap into which more and more of us are falling
#10> But I don’t think I’m over-romanticising to suggest that just as there is something psychologically corrosive about the fact that the lawyer can always bill another six minutes, there is something psychologically healthy about the fact that the farmer can sometimes rest assured that there is nothing useful to be done until the morning. This sense of a “forced” break from work, reminds me of the Jewish concept of th…
The loss of the sabbath in Christianity really puts a limelight on the dark side of grace. Rest is for eternity; clock back in.