Read This If You Think You Could Manage Your Time Better
I had a great conversation with a friend of mine.
He owns a company in San Fransisco that presents public school data to leaders and administrators and shows them where they need to focus in order to improve outcomes for students.
It's an amazing company that is helping lots of schools, but that's not the point.
When we connect, we often talk about project management, productivity, and strategy.
I love chatting with him because I admire the way he runs his company and his life.
One morning, we were talking about time management and how beneficial it is for both of us to be early risers.
I forget what time it was, but it was early in the morning for a phone call--definitely before 8 AM for me and probably before 7 AM for him.
But then he said something that really reshaped the way I look at my calendar.
He said:
"I started noticing that I felt better in the morning. I did better work. I had more energy. So, I stopped focusing on time management and started focusing on energy management."
Click.
By introspecting more closely at our times of high-energy and times of low-energy, we may learn more about how to shape our day or when to focus on important tasks.
If we take this another step further, to the career level, it might be helpful to ask yourself:
"What kind of work makes me feel the most alive?"
"What kind of work makes me feel the most dead inside?"
These are powerful indicators that may help you shape your career into the life of your dreams.
And that's the dream, right? To be productive and happy at the same time?
No one wants to be lazy and miserable. No one wants to be overworked and miserable.
2 Minute Action:
So, today, for 2 minutes, I urge you to ask yourself these questions.
If not, don't be surprised if you're doing the same work and feeling the same way about your life and career a few years from now.
Moving from your current state to your future desired state will require energy and strain.
Don't Do More And Don't Do Less, Here's Why
If you're like me, you probably think a lot about doing more.
How can I increase my output?How can I check off more tasks?How can I reduce friction so I can get more done?
And here's the part where I'm about to start talking about doing less.
Right? This is where I go into a tirade about how we should be focusing on doing fewer things, better.
The truth is, that might be true for some of us.
For others, you might just really love the feeling of checking stuff off your list.And that might change depending on where you are in your career or life.
It might be true for a while and then not true later on.
And vice-versa.The most important thing here is just knowing what makes you happy.If you're like me, feeling like I'm making the world a better place is the feeling of happiness.So it's not really checking off boxes, for me--it's seeing real-world results that I impacted.
2 Minute Action
Write down a list of 5 times you felt most alive.Write down a list of 5 times you felt most dead.Boom.Now you know what kind of experiences to integrate into your life.
My Coworker Said This And It Woke Me Up
All of this “rah-rah, motivation-guy” stuff?You probably don’t need it.
One of my colleagues had to remind me of this, today.
Some people need it.The people who have been stuck on the couch for 6 years need that.But that’s probably not you.
People who have been operating at 100 and want to be operating at 150 usually don’t need that.
The people who wanna be at 150 need something, too, but it’s not the “get off your ass and do something” mentality.Usually is mentorship, guidance, reinforcement, support, resources, or something related.It could even be some R & R.Where are you in your career/journey?It’s up to you to be realistic about your pace and capacity. It’s your responsibility to your mission to build “burn-out prevention” into your work-life.
2 Minute Action
What are the things that re-charge you?What are the things that make you feel alive?What are the things that make you feel proud or accomplished?Answer one of these questions and pick a day in the next 4 weeks to make sure that it happens.Call in a friend or accountabilibuddy if you need to.
“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”