A friend of mine recently decided to quit his job in the city. His office was big. His title was impressive. His salary was more than enough for him and his family to live on.
What led to his leaving a cozy job?
It wasn't the money nor the responsibilities he had at work. Rather, it was the soul-sucking nature of living in the burbs and having to drag his butt into the city each and every day.
He had had enough. After prayer and more than a few long talks with his wife, he decided he was going to leave and pursue something very different.
He hasn't looked back since.
Jealous? I was when I first heard and then, with a smile, I congratulated him and admired his bravery. If only others had the guts to do the same, I told myself.
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What Steve realized, long before he quit his job, was that he wasn't actually getting getting that much work done when he was at work.
Be honest- how much work do you get done when you're at work? I suspect that, if your job is anything like Steve's was, your day is full of any of the following time thieves:
-commuting to and from work (30-90 minutes)
-meetings (30-60 minutes)
-chit-chat (15-30 minutes)
-lunch (30-60 minutes)
A worse-case scenario could rob you of 150 minutes of your day- that's over two hours! Tack on to the lost time of 150 minutes is the hard-to-measure moments that you lost due to distractions and being interrupted.
That's not ok.
It's exactly why my friend Steve decided that he had had enough. He's now doing work that allows him to focus, enjoy fewer meetings and work at his strengths. Oh, and not having to commute into the city- that's the cherry on top.
If you're tired of these time thieves (as I am!), I suggest the following as an antidote to the problems of the modern workplace:
1. Attend as few meetings as possible.
2. Cultivate time, each day, to think deeply and focus, without interruption.
3. Find quiet spaces during the day to do work.
4. Create a personal workspace that you enjoy and look forward to.
5. Have as short a commute as possible.
6. Explore the possibility of working from home, 1-2 days per week.
I'm not saying that it's that simple. But, it kind of is. It takes humility to realize that and guts to stick to the simplicity of the whole thing.
Try any one of these six action-steps this coming week and let me know which one makes a difference in your time management and work. I'd love to hear from you!