January 20, 2016
I want to let you in on a little secret that hard working people know, and successful people understand: There is always more work to be done.
Yes, let the self-embarrassed, defeated moans, and groans begin!
We all have a similar reaction to hearing this sort of statement. We should have done more. You were just wasting time yesterday, watching that movie, or creeping on facebook, (hopefully you at least didn’t lose your soul for two hours to cat videos!) and you had so much work you should have been doing.
But guess what? There is always more work to be done. You know this because you are a hard working son-of-a-gun. However, there is a difference between knowing, and understanding. If you don’t take time to understand this one, “hard-working” is just going to turn into “hard.”
3 Solutions to Overworking
So what do very successful people know that you don’t, or aren’t applying? There is always more work to be done, SO you will never be able to do it all.
Successful people accept this.
You are always going to have another project. However, once you really understand that it never ends, you begin to make adjustments. You cannot work all the time. Not on chores and repairs around the house, not for your income, and not on hobbies turned obligations. Partly this becomes about accomplishing the important stuff first, and letting the rest go. However mostly it is about allowing yourself time to have fun, and being comfortable in the time between activity.
1) Stop Working
This solution is first, not necessarily because it’s the first action (or inaction) you need to take, but because if you are hard-working, and never seem to have enough time, it is the most important thing you need to hear.
Sometimes you just have to stop working.
We become very tied up in our sense of self-worth based on what we get done in a day. A day just enjoying the backyard seems like a day wasted. It’s not.
Yesterday I had 6-10 tasks on the to-do list. I did, maybe 3. Then I spent the afternoon editing together GoPro footage, from a Colorado ski trip last year, of two friend crashing into each other.
Why? I don’t know, they just seemed to ski right into each other for no particular reason.
Oh, why did I waste my afternoon like that? Because it was fun! I spent the whole time giggling like a five-year-old at a fart joke!
We work on our houses, our cars, our kids, and the labradoodle’s grooming for a reason. So we can enjoy them! Not taking the time to enjoy the environments we have built for ourselves, and toys we have acquired is pointless. Spending all day sweating for a dollar, and never taking the time to spend it is insanity.
Work for a reason, and then enjoy that reason. The harder this is for you, the more you need it. Have fun in life. Take time to literally smell roses. They smell pretty awesome! Or play with your dog. Or, I dunno, build a snowman. Just stop working from time to time.
2) Consolidate, Eliminate, and Pay the Man
Ok, so while taking time out is the most important action you need to take. There are some steps you can take to free up your time.
Consolidate work whenever possible. Chances are there are lot of things you do too often. Whether it’s email, snail mail, chores, gardening, or witchcraft, chances are you can cut down the frequency with which you preform certain tasks. Practice consolidating work, and focusing tasks down to once a day, once a week, or once a month.
Eliminate with ruthlessness. Just because you can do a chore doesn’t mean it needs done. Find the time draining activities that don’t need done at all, or need done so infrequently we can’t call them consolidation.
Look for chores you, and a partner both do that is doubling the work. Then let them do it… just kidding. Split up, and share, but don’t both do it.
Find the activities you are just doing to feel useful, or avoid boredom. Stop doing those! (Yes you do this, we all do this.)
Finally, if you don’t personally have to do it, consider paying the man. Doing work, even at home, that you could pay someone else do is pretty much like income. If you don’t need the income, and would rather have time, consider sharing the wealth, and paying someone to do it for you. Work, and income, aren’t just about the time you sell to your employer. Keep an eye on the other ways you spend your time, and decide whether they are really worth the money.
3) Have Fun with It
If you have to do -no way out- try to at least have a little fun with it. First check out my post “If Life is Just a Game, Who’s Winning?” It will tell you everything you need to know to start making the mundane little chores we are stuck with more enjoyable.
Secondly, don’t forget about community. Social interaction is a huge part of our satisfaction with life. Doing those crummy little obligations with, or around, other people makes them a lot more tolerable.
Bonus) 1 Anti-Solution to Overworking
Multi-tasking.
You know, like doing your email while you watch TV. Or writing a sonnet while you play with the kids.
Just stop it. It’s dangerous!
Here’s the problem, work quickly overtakes all your free time all over again. You aren’t enjoying TV while you get your work accomplished. If that actually worked efficiently your boss wouldn’t care if you did it at the office. What you are doing, is doing work, when you should be taking some time to do something enjoyable.
It’s tricky, I’ll admit. I am restaining grout in my foyer. If I put on some music, to make the work more fun that’s a good thing. If I’ve worked all day, and would like to enjoy a movie with my girlfriend, maybe doing my bills at the same time isn’t a great plan.
Basically it comes down to a question: Is this the only time I have to purely enjoy myself or have fun today? If the answer is yes, try to just do that. It doesn’t happen everyday, but make it happen more often.
Or, when in doubt, say no to multitasking. It will be ok.
Actions and Practice
We all want to be successful. However, true success requires a certain amount of calculated balance. We have to know when to let up a little, and have fun. We need to know when to relax, and take life’s beauty in. It’s ok, to take a break every once in a while. Just do me a favor, and do something your really have a ball doing!
I’ll be up skiing down some powdery white snow this weekend.
I hope you get out, and excite yourself with something you enjoy too!
And if you are looking for more actions you can take, subscribe below. Lots more tips, and tricks are on their way!
-Michael Speck