In this society we have very rigid and limited ideas about what it means to work and be productive.
Our ability to feel like we’ve put in a good days work, and done enough to earn some down time or rest hinges on boxes checked and number of hours spent.
What’s interesting is that even when we’ve done the time and checked all the boxes somehow it’s still not enough, our state of satisfaction never lasts.
We wake up the next day and start again with a new list. Our ability to feel good always tied to something we have yet to accomplish.
I’d like to offer you an alternate method: one that’s far more enjoyable and ups your chances of experiencing a more meaningful result.
TWO THINGS TO CONSIDER:
1: Feeling good in any one moment of your life serves every other area well.
Having a great workout, decorating the house for the holidays, crafting with the kids, watching a show you love, cooking a killer meal; anything that allows you to feel relaxed, playful and good serves every other area of your life, including your work.
We mistakenly think that these activities warrant feelings of guilt. We couldn’t be more wrong.
You, engaging in even the smallest activity that helps you feel good is an investment in your total well-being.
The work that gets produced from a state of feeling ‘well’ will always be far superior to what comes from a state of feeling tired, stressed or under pressure to do better.
The way most people work is more punishing than productive. Not making time to do things you enjoy is a costly trade to make.
You’ll enjoy a more expansive and deeper sense of productivity if you use all the things that make you feel good as fuel for all that you hope to accomplish.
There's never a downside to doing things you love.
2: Research on work productivity.
“In the knowledge-working world we live in, your best work will generally happen while you’re away from work. Research has shown, only 16% of creative ideas happen while you’re sitting at work. Most will happen while you’re relaxing, commuting, traveling, spending time present with loved ones, etc.”
Whatever it is you’re trying to solve, accomplish or overcome, it’s always the state you’re in with yourself, that matters most.
Having the courage to allow for more play, more relaxation, a more enjoyable way to ‘work’ is easier once you feel worthy of what might happen as a result.
Rather than chasing goals, try chasing a great inner state with yourself. Sounds radical because it is. Radical is how we disrupt the ‘same old same old’.
Isn’t that what you’re hoping for?
xx Lori
PS: Chasing anything serves to only widen the gap between where you are and what you want.