>>> bear in mind that you actually get less done in a 60-hour week than a 40-hour one
On aggregate, sure (and for a lot of people in a lot of scenarios, the actual threshold is probably lower still). But there are outliers here -- particularly when we're talking about highly-driven people doing things they really want to do -- and I'd be nervous about legislating here.
Well, I only advocate legislating a maximum 40-hour (or better yet, 30-hour) week for employees.
If you're self-employed and you think you're an outlier? You're probably mistaken. Chronic fatigue is like being drunk; it impairs your judgment in such a way that you can't judge the degree of impairment.
But if you still think you're an outlier? I won't lift a finger to stop you, but please keep quiet about it and refrain from poisoning the noosphere for everyone else.
I don't think I can even manage a 40 hour week productively now, as my other obligations have grown.
Whereas, in the early years I could work much longer without reurcussion. This is fairly measurable, as I was writing educational materials and people say the quality was good then.
One month I went to Cuba to write, and didn't have to cook, clean or do errands. I also didn't socialize much, but had daily contact with people in my house. I worked much longer weeks, but felt less stress. I also had daily sun, exercise, and healthy food.
The second situation wasn't sustainable for more than 1.5 years, but did work well enough. The 3rd situation also isn't sustainable long run, and can be difficult to setup in most circumstances.
Just pointing that out to say that the 40 hour limit can be affected by other factors. Right now I want to rearrange my non-work commitments to allow more work time, and also reduce the most mundane work tasks.
Critically, when I was working longer, I was just writing. Almost no administrative work.
On aggregate, sure (and for a lot of people in a lot of scenarios, the actual threshold is probably lower still). But there are outliers here -- particularly when we're talking about highly-driven people doing things they really want to do -- and I'd be nervous about legislating here.