{"text":[[{"start":8.35,"text":"In less than one week’s time, Britain may be led by a man with a capacity for work that his friends say is phenomenal, ferocious and slightly exhausting to watch. "}],[{"start":17.689999999999998,"text":"I discovered this last week after reading one of the many biographies of Keir Starmer, or as I have come to think of him, Keir Starmina. "}],[{"start":25.069999999999997,"text":"The Labour leader, who polls suggest will be the British prime minister after the July 4 election, can work and work with “ridiculously small amounts of sleep”, according to one of his ex-girlfriends, the barrister Phillippa Kaufmann. "}],[{"start":37.79,"text":"“Keir’s ability to work is absolutely phenomenal,” she told biographer Tom Baldwin. "},{"start":42.844,"text":"“I’ve never known anyone like him. ”"}],[{"start":45.65,"text":"Starmer’s Stakhanovite tendencies were evident early on. "},{"start":49.229,"text":"“I’ve never seen anyone be able to study like him,” reported a school friend who remembered him being “at his desk for hour, after hour, after hour”. "}],[{"start":58.04,"text":"A person who knew him at university was quoted saying that, when everyone else was lying around shattered after a big night out, “Keir would always be up at six the next morning, getting on with his studies”. "}],[{"start":68.25,"text":"And one of his oldest friends said Starmer’s discipline and drive were so vast that “sometimes, it makes me feel weary just thinking about the life he leads”. "}],[{"start":76.68,"text":"Reading all this reminded me of an uncomfortable truth about modern working life and the profusion of goal-setting, time-managing, email-batching productivity “hacks” we are constantly told will speed us to career success. "},{"start":87.959,"text":"None are any match for the inbuilt stamina of a Starmer. "}],[{"start":91.52000000000001,"text":"This ought to be obvious. "},{"start":93.424,"text":"But I don’t think it is in a world where publishers are churning out as many as three books a day on how to be more productive at work, and sites such as TikTok burst with advice on how to do more faster. "}],[{"start":103.50000000000001,"text":"The upshot of this industrial-strength guidance is the belief that productivity soars once one latches on to the right habits and work practices. "},{"start":110.94200000000001,"text":"Alas, it is not quite that simple. "}],[{"start":113.90000000000002,"text":"I first began to grasp the importance of physical durability in my twenties when I bowled up to a famous older female reporter and asked her for the secret to success in journalism. "}],[{"start":123.53000000000002,"text":"I had expected to hear her talk about the art of extracting information from sources; or being well-informed, or writing well. "},{"start":130.222,"text":"Instead, she gave an abrupt one-word answer: “stamina”. "}],[{"start":135.06,"text":"I thought this odd but as time went on I kept seeing evidence of her point. "},{"start":139.014,"text":"A lot of persistently successful people keep working when lesser physical beings wilt with exhaustion, the flu or a general failure to function. "},{"start":146.457,"text":"That journalist herself is, at the time of writing, still a prolific commentator, researcher and writer — just days away from her 80th birthday. "}],[{"start":155.06,"text":"Mental stamina, like physical staying power, is a gift, although it does have downsides. "}],[{"start":160.8,"text":"Starmer was once so engrossed at his desk in a London flat he was sharing that he failed to notice two burglars were inside knocking off the TV and video recorder. "}],[{"start":170,"text":"Life with a remorseless worker can also take its toll on family and work colleagues. "}],[{"start":175.34,"text":"“Bed, woman! ”"},{"start":177.094,"text":"Denis Thatcher would sometimes tell his wife Margaret, the late former British prime minister, who was said to get by on just four hours sleep a night. "}],[{"start":185.57,"text":"Opinions differ about how well Baroness Thatcher functioned on this much sleep, which is comforting to those of us who prefer at least seven good hours of shuteye. "}],[{"start":193.91,"text":"Thankfully, being in the sleep elite is far less fashionable now that work-life balance is treated seriously. "},{"start":200.089,"text":"It is also worth remembering that stamina does not guarantee success. "}],[{"start":204.31,"text":"The business world has long been full of executives bragging about how little sleep they need but very few reach the heights of a chief executive such as Apple’s Tim Cook, who has said he likes to wake up before 4am and do an hour of emailing and a workout before heading to work. "}],[{"start":218.74,"text":"Then there is the current British prime minister, Rishi Sunak. "},{"start":222.494,"text":"He reportedly works around the clock — and on weekends. "},{"start":225.774,"text":"His generally diligent approach to work has never been in doubt. "},{"start":229.042,"text":"Yet the polls suggest he is about to lead his party to a defeat of dire proportions. "}],[{"start":234.4,"text":"Ultimately, he is a reminder that a capacity for hard yards will take you a long way in life, but it won’t always be enough to achieve enduring success. "}],[{"start":242.12,"text":""}]],"url":"https://creatives.ftacademy.cn/album/161155-1719731748.mp3"}