Thanks for your comment and for these terrific links. You're right in suggesting that the metaphor of the marathon runner is very apt.

Finding and striking a balance is important at work and in life. Perhaps true personal productivity is finding the balance that allows one to achieve what's necessary over a lifetime, rather than merely in the course of a single hour or day. Sprinting, while useful from time to time, really isn't a practical approach to life.

- Mary

Thanks for your comment and for these terrific links. You're right in suggesting that the metaphor of the marathon runner is very apt.

Finding and striking a balance is important at work and in life. Perhaps true personal productivity is finding the balance that allows one to achieve what's necessary over a lifetime, rather than merely in the course of a single hour or day. Sprinting, while useful from time to time, really isn't a practical approach to life.

- Mary

I recently bookmarked a couple of interesting posts on this question, both of which mention marathon runners. One (Peter Bregman, “To Get More Done, Slow Down”) compares the need not to overtrain when preparing for a marathon with our apparent desire to fill a working day with continuous work. The other (Craig Roth, “Those Lazy Marathon Runners”) highlights the difference between the performance of a marathon runner and a sprinter, showing the need to strike the correct pace for the task in hand. We can learn from both of these insights.