Don’t Spend A Day At Work, Live It

Abraham Lincoln once said: “Give me six hours to chop a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe”.

It goes without saying that most of us have to work for a living. We need money to pay our bills, hopefully with some left over for a few treats and incidental expenses along the way and a few for our post retirement if we could. :)Earning enough in the best way we can may well be the main preoccupation in our minds.

So often we all feel compelled to make compromises when it comes to our work; we may take on a role we don’t especially like, feel obliged to humour a constipated boss, commute large distances, keep unsociable hours in order to keep our jobs. For a time this may be a necessary negotiation, it’s vital in order to keep the different areas of our life afloat.

Here are a few takeaways that can brighten up our work day:

1. Prepare in Advance

For some, it takes longer to get ready in the mornings (i.e. when you’re still half-asleep). Its better to prepare the night before (when you might be sleepy but haven’t yet reached Zombie mode).

Does it take you a bit to decide what to wear? If that is the case, get the next day’s outfit ready as part of your bedtime ritual. Also read: click here

Want to make positive eating decisions at lunch? Pack a lunch including fruits, vegetables, protein, and healthy fats for lasting energy that will carry you through your day. If you’d like to include some healthy foods that make you smarter, click here to optimize your brain power.

2. Wake Up with Sunrise

If you followed the above step, you should find yourself with time every morning, but let’s go ahead and double that. How you start the morning can make or break your day, so let’s give yourself plenty of time for a positive start.

One can use this extra time to connect with the divine, say a few prayers or to meditate — whatever your spiritual belief you may have, use it and enable yourself to let that divine energy drive you throughout the day.

No matter how hot or cold it might be, march yourself outside to soak in some sunrise. The sun’s rays will boost your mood, increase your alertness, strengthen your immunity from sickness, and help you sleep better at night.

3. Commute Fresh

Don’t drive your car or ride a bus or a train as half dead, which most people do in mornings. Learn to enjoy every single moment and feel your drive or commute time. listen to something that energizes you, be it a motivational audio or music that makes you happy and excited. Make a play list on your cellphone that gives you a kick. This will help you arrive fresh at work. Your colleagues may get a surprise seeing you singing a trendy song while you arrive at your workstation. :)

4. First Thing First

Choose from the below options and do one of these tasks first thing:

• The task with the most urgent deadline (if its importance trumps all else, act accordingly).
• The task that is the largest source of stress (if you’re going to be dreading it all day so get it over with).
• The task that will take the most time and energy (because then the rest will seem easy in comparison).
• Avoid the temptation to check your email any more than every few hours. If they really need you, they will call. Starting and stopping a task adds up in a lot of wasted time and an overwhelmed feeling, so get the important things done without distraction. Also read: click here.

5. Know your Why

Do the soul searching periodically and ask yourself a few questions frequently. This process will take you closer to the real meaning of your life.

• Why you go to work?
• How does your job fit into the Big Picture of your life i.e. where do you see yourself in next 5–10 years or more?
• Is it the only purpose of your life? (which ideally shouldn't be the case).
• What is your ultimate reality and where you will go eventually (the life hereafter)?

Last Word

Happiness and satisfaction are subjective concepts — while for some of us monetary benefits can be equated with job satisfaction, some might strive for recognition of their hard work and lose motivation on failing to achieve so. For some people, having a friendly environment at work is an essential requisite for deriving pleasure. No matter what the standards are, being content with our careers is crucial for maintaining the ‘work-life’ balance.

Try and find yours. Many people just fail to believe in themselves. Do not commit that mistake. It is not difficult to have a good day, just some prerequisites are to be followed that we listed above.

Learn how sometimes smaller things in our lives make huge impact and you can take some learnings on a personal and professional level by following me on LinkedIn and on our official website. Also follow us on social media: Facebook, LinkedIn, Medium, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

Muhammad Sajwani is the Founder, Managing Director and Principal Consultant at Evolve HR which aims at transforming, enriching and evolving Human Capital of Pakistan. At Evolve HR, him and his team thrives in challenging assumptions that hinder organisational aspirations, by creating innovative solutions that yield maximum impact, scalability & benefit to a wider base of stakeholders. As a Business Coach and Organisational Consultant, Sajwani knows how to combine business insights with people insights to transform organisations and put them on the path to growth.