I’ve been mulling over an idea for sustainable development; it’s a simple idea that would help prevent burnout caused by working long hours several days in a row. The idea: work no more than the hours you slept the previous night. For example, if you slept 4 hours, only work 4 hours the next day. If you’ve worked with someone who is tired, you know how detrimental they can be to quality.

This solution doesn’t work on the first day of long hours, and it only makes sense if work kept you up late (party people can’t just use the work-no-more-than-you-sleep rule as an excuse).

In my experience, the effect is amplified as you continue sleeplessly. I imagine scientific research would agree, but I don’t have it handy. What do you think? Would this work?