The Work Less Manifesto

Here’s a riddle. What’s the difference between Starbucks on Monday at 8:11 a.m. and Monday at 11:11 a.m.? I’ll give you a hint . . . the answer goes a little deeper than “three hours.”

The truth is that the 8:11 a.m. crowd works more and earns less while the 11:11 a.m. crowd achieves just the opposite.

The Starbucks scene at 8:11 a.m. Monday morning is all about:

• A line out the door
• Baristas barking out orders, and
• corporate climbers getting their caffeine fill to jump start their day.

The best word to describe the scene is “rushed.”

At 11:11 a.m. the dress code is dramatically more casual, the laptops line the round tables, and the pace keeps your heart beating comfortably.

The best word to describe the scene is “civilized”.

Now you might think the 11:11 a.m. crowd is synonymous with unemployment but it’s simply not true. A quick glance around the aroma-filled café reveals:

• An entrepreneur on a conference call with Asia
• A 40-something brunette polishing off a nonfiction manuscript, and
• A fresh-faced college grad tweaking a web design for a freelance client.

These folks are not living with their parents. Quite the contrary, they’ve taken charge of their careers and control their hours.

I spent eight years as a member of the 8:11 a.m. crowd. Now, I’m not a coffee guy, but Starbucks still reeled me in with an assortment of sweet tasting frappucinos. Once during those eight years, I entered a Starbucks at 11:11 a.m. Not because I had quit my job. Rather I was out on a sick day looking for a Starbucks pick-me-up. I looked at all the casually dressed, cozy looking customers and wondered, “what in the world do these people do for a living that they can hang out in a Starbucks in the middle of the day.”

It turns out the answer does not involve winning lottery tickets or early inheritances. The 11:11 a.m. crowd simply figured out how to work less and earn more. I’m committed to never entering a Starbucks in rush hour again. It’s simply too painful a reminder of my old life. A life I never want to live again.