On Effectiveness and Efficiency

Is the measure of one's effectiveness strongly correlated with the number of work-hours a person renders?

Rachel and Allan went home around 6 in the morning today. Reason? Same old. Same old. Project stuff. I went home 8 hours before them, by the way, and felt I came out of a harassing workshift. Damn, they're almost in the office for 24 straight hours.

I find this an issue worth butting my nose into 'coz my project is dependent on their other projects. Selfish, eh? Anyway, they're subjected to this work style at least a week. *goosebumps slowly rising* Ack! There goes my three S'es - School. Sleep. Social activities. Especially the 2nd one. I take pride in getting a standard 8-hour sleep, or else, I'd be a moody monster the next day.

Is there something they can do to minimize their workhours and still be effective?

Does that mean if I don't partake in their office lamay, would that make me less effective, at least in the eyes of our PM and the customers? Eh, what if I'm just amazingly super efficient? (add to that cute hahaha) What if I know how to schedule my tasks and organize them well that I don't need to grow eyebags? Not that they are inefficient of course. Just a very demanding project I suppose.

On the other hand, I'm proud of my cousin, who does this exag work shift almost every other day. He's one of the growing population of nurses in the country; right after he passed the board exams this summer, Superman's spirit possessed him: he's taking his MS, teaching at the local college, working as a Clinical Supervisor, and having midnight and afternoon emergency duties in two hospitals - all at the same time. He lives on the 25/8 timezone. And the pay isn't that large; case in point, a 12-hour shift in the emergency hospital pays 150 bucks. Sucks, eh?

Maybe when I start into this weekly mad work skeds, I'll just think of my Superhuman cousin who's an inspiration...I get crazy already juggling work and studies, all the more when I'm in his shoes.

Cuz's case - having ungodly work skeds with a cause. He's one of the many Pinoys who still think the US is the promised land. The weekly 6am case? I don't know why they're doing this in the first place.