An Indian-origin entrepreneur based in San Francisco has shared how he balances a six-day workweek with exercise, recovery and personal time, while opposing the demanding '996' work culture prevalent in parts of the technology industry.
Hardik Jagda, who is the founder and CEO of Proximity Works, typically wakes up between 3 AM and 5 AM. In a conversation with Business Insider, Jagda explained how he structures his workday around the routines of professional athletes, who combine intensive training with adequate rest and recovery.
"After 7 AM, my time isn't mine anymore," Jagda noted, explaining that requests begin coming in from employees working across different time zones.
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Rather than immediately checking emails or messages, he protects the first few hours of the morning for strategic decisions, exercise and planning his goals.
"I like to start the day early, so I'm protecting the first three hours as time for myself. I usually wake up between 3 a.m. and 5 a.m. Between 3 and 6 a.m., I don't touch my emails or look at messages," he added.
How An Athlete-Inspired Routine Helps The CEO
Jagda said reading autobiographies of entrepreneurs and athletes helped shape his approach to work and productivity. He observed that athletes make time for training while ensuring that rest and recovery remain part of their routines.
"I noticed athletes would talk about starting their day early to train and work in time for rest and recovery throughout the day. I started modelling my days after this, waking up early so I could have four to five hours to build my company before work started. I still stick to this lifestyle now that I'm a full-time founder and CEO," he said.
During the early hours, Jagda focuses on strategic decisions, works out and writes down measurable goals for his company and personal fitness.
He said the routine proved particularly useful around two years ago, when the company needed to interview a large number of engineers quickly for a new project.
"I sat down with my talent acquisition team and found a way to redesign our recruitment workflow to take place within 72 hours. That wouldn't have been possible if I didn't give myself the three-hour morning block."
His first meetings generally begin between 7:30 AM and 8 AM. He tries to wrap up meetings by 2:30 PM, works out again at 3 PM and then focuses on creative tasks, including speech-writing.
Jagda also schedules 15-minute recovery periods before important meetings to remind himself of the objective of each conversation. He spends his evenings with loved ones and aims to go to bed around 9 PM, allowing himself approximately seven hours of sleep.
He also uses Saturdays to develop skills such as public speaking.
Why The CEO Opposes '996' Work Culture
The '996' work culture refers to working from 9 AM to 9 PM, six days a week, amounting to 72 hours of work every week. The model has attracted attention in the technology industry, particularly in Silicon Valley, where long working hours are often associated with ambition and productivity.
Despite working six days a week himself, Jagda said he does not expect his employees to follow the same schedule.
"For the most part, I work six days a week," he added.
He added that he works more than 40 hours a week but does not keep track of the time he spends working.
Jagda said his company's approach focuses on ownership and results rather than monitoring employees' working hours.
"We don't keep track of how many hours the team works. It's more about a culture of ownership, where people really care about the problem they're working on."
He also said the company accommodates employees who are more productive at different times of the day.
"Even though I've become a morning person, we're fine with engineers who are more productive at night, as long as they maintain a five-to-six-hour overlap with the other engineers."
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Explaining his opposition to the '996' model, Jagda said the focus should be on structuring the workday to support better performance rather than simply increasing the number of hours spent working.
"For the most part, I work six days a week, spending my Saturdays focusing on a key skill I want to develop, like public speaking," he added.
"Even though I've become a morning person, we're fine with engineers who are more productive at night, as long as they maintain a five-to-six-hour overlap with the other engineers."
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