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Why Do You Go To Work?

October 9, 2013 By
Time Card

Photo Courtesy of Marcin Wichary.

There are very few things that you have to do in life. You have to eat, drink, and take care of yourself in order to survive but other than that there really isn’t anything that you have to do.

With that, why do you go to work? Is it because you enjoy it or because you need a pay check? If the answer is because you need a check I think you might need to look a little deeper as to the reason you go.

I am an advocate of doing work that you love. There really needs to be more of a reason to go to work than just to trade your time for money. You should enjoy what you do and find deeper meaning in going to work. If you don’t then it may be time to look for another line of work.

“If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as a Michaelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, ‘Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.” Martin Luther King Jr.

You have the choice to go to a job you hate tomorrow or to look for another job. If you do not enjoy your current employment then come up with an exit plan over the next 60 days. Put in applications, make phone calls and once you secure a job doing something you find meaning put in your notice and go do good work that matters to you.

Question: What is something that gives your current job meaning?

Filed Under: Business, Life Coaching, Motivational, People, Time Management Tagged With: , , , , ,
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Say No?

September 25, 2013 By
I Said No

Photo Courtesy of Roland Tanglao.

Is it time to say no?

It has been my experience that most humans are people pleasers.  They want to make everyone, at least in their immediate circle of family and friends, happy.  They do this at the sacrifice of themselves and their own time and at some point they start feeling drained or even resentful if the requests keep pouring in.
Do you think it is time you start telling people in your world ‘no’?
Chris Gillibeau in his book “The Art of Non-Conformity” says to ask “What is the worst thing that will happen if I say no?”  Most of the time the answer is nothing.  If it isn’t a life or death situation then you need to consider whether you want to spend your time doing the request.
This isn’t to say you should be self serving and only thinking of yourself.  There are plenty of times that you want to help others when asked.  But before you do consider all of the factors and whether you truly have the time to give at that moment.  Time is a precious thing so handle with care.
What was a time that you said yes to someone and after the fact realized you should have said no for one reason or another?
Filed Under: Life Coaching Tagged With: , , , ,
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Opportunity Cost

September 10, 2011 By
Friedrich von Wieser

Friedrich von Wieser - Developer of the Opportunity Cost Theory

When you choose to do something there is always a cost.  If you decide to get up at 6am instead of sleep in you have cost yourself sleep but gained more time awake which could mean more productivity.  Such things are referred to as opportunity cost.

We all have a finite amount of time.  When we choose to do something the cost is that we cannot get that time back and therefore have lost that time to do something else.  We all have 168 hours in a week and if we choose to watch television for 40 of those hours then that is 40 hours we cannot get back to exercise, read, work, or anything else.

Want to get more productive time out of your day and lower your opportunity cost?  Set up a time budget much like you would your household financial budget.  See where time is being wasted or could be used better.  This can help you improve outlook, reduce stress, and increase your productivity both at work and at home.

 

Filed Under: Time Management Tagged With: , ,