Cadence and balance, Part I

“Being a professional is doing the things you love to do, on the days you don’t feel like doing them.” [Dr. J]

On my last day of HBS, a professor declared that trying to achieve balance on a day-to-day basis would prevent you from achieving great things. “Balance is valuable over months and years, not over days,” he asserted.

Every morning this week I have woken up thrilled to do my job. [Ed. Note: For those of you who I’ve joked with about being unemployed — I confess that I do have a job, albeit a non-traditional one right now. I consult/freelance with start-ups].

These days feel freaking terrific. I bound out of bed before my alarm, write beautifully crafted and witty emails, run meetings and churn out thoughtful analysis, develop delightful analogies that spur mu clients to action, and still have energy left to plan and cook carb/dairy/sugar-free meals.

I am Mary Tyler Effing Moore throwing her beret in the air! The phrase “crushing it” was invented for me!

The Mary Tyler Moore days are fantastic. It’s the other 99.9% of days (the ones we don’t Instagram) that I want to talk about.

The reality is that, most days there’s some drag. Sometimes it’s minor frustrations with your job. You get a rude email from a manager, your buddy gets the promotion you were passed over for, you’re asked to lead work that you find totally boring, and the guy at the desk next to you won’t stop clicking his shoes on the inside of the desk.

At the end of the day, you’re throwing your hat up in the air, but not like Mary Tyler Moore. On days like this, going to work doesn’t feel like fun. But you’re a freaking professional, right? Just like Dr. J said! And then your parents’ and grandparents’ words come back to you:

“That’s why it’s called work. If it was fun, they wouldn’t have to pay you to do it.”

Here’s the question: When does ‘drag’ transition to ‘dread’? When is the balance (whether that’s daily, monthly, or weekly) out of whack? When does disinterest in a piece of work become discouragement with your job? What’s the right cadence for stoicism vs. self-care?

And most importantly, when do you know it’s time to stop being a professional, and start moving on?

(part 2 coming tomorrow, but I promised 30 days of posting)