ANTenna Blog -- Business & E-Business

Sadly, two high profile tech bloggers died recently and another one suffered a heart attack. The blogosphere was rife with the notion that the stressful lives these men lead -- thanks to their jobs -- contributed to their tragedies. But their workdays don't sound much different than that of anyone running a smaller business.

The New York Times has an article about writers who "blog till they drop."

Its premise is based on the recent deaths of Russell Shaw, a tech blogger for ZDNet who died at 60 of a heart attack; Marc Orchant, another tech blogger for ZDNet died at 50, also of a heart attack; and, Om Malik, of Gigaom, 41, who survived a heart attack this past December.

Writes Matt Richtel in the NYT: "A growing work force of home-office laborers and entrepreneurs, armed with computers and smartphones and wired to the hilt, are toiling under great physical and emotional stress created by the around-the-clock Internet economy that demands a constant stream of news and comment."

For smaller businesses, the money quote is this: "Even at established companies, the Internet has changed the nature of work, allowing people to set up virtual offices and work from anywhere at any time. That flexibility has a downside, in that workers are always a click away from the burdens of the office. For obsessive information workers, that can mean never leaving the house."

It's not blogging that kills: it's always working. It's losing perspective. It's forgetting that whole life/work balance thing.

Larry Dignan, of ZDNet was interviewed for the NYT's article but didn't make the cut -- perhaps, he muses, because he refused to implicate blogging as a killer: "The point I was trying to make was that nothing (certainly the deaths of Russell and Marc Orchant and Om’s heart attack) exist in a vacuum. You have to take care of yourself."

Om Malik also acknowledges that it was his lifestyle, and lack of balance, that contributed to his health problems: "It is suffice to say, the problems in my case were brought on by a combination of factors including the 24/7 lifestyle, bad health choices and yes, a desire to do everything."

Ironically, the NYT also has an article on time management for smaller businesses which includes some helpful tips on getting more out of your business day. But one of its quotes is this: "While a 25-hour day is impossible, there are ways to become more productive within the existing 24."

Perhaps that should be amended to read "within the existing eight" or at most ten. After that, it's time to take a break.