“The real work starts when I’m finished working”
I often say that to my friends and to the people I work with. Let me explain.
What I mean by that, is that the “real work”, the one that matters, happens when I am done with all my business’ operational tasks, emails, meetings, projects to manage, follow-ups with clients, etc.
These tasks are necessary, but don’t help serve my vision.
The “Real work” is the work that makes me move towards my goals, it is also the work that makes me happy. It includes: polishing my vision, setting goals, finding the best way to reach them, moving towards them, branding myself or my companies, building relationships, learning new things, trying new things, getting out of my comfort zone, and thinking, a lot.
All the rest, when considered enough, was just feeding an illusion of accomplishment. It was putting me in danger for one main reason: it was perpetuating the status quo and only serving short-term and cash driven actions.
The work that matters is personal growth and goal driven actions.
A few years ago I realized that by changing the way I spend my free time and by avoiding wasting it as much as possible, I had more control over my path and had less pressure and less mental stress so I could focus on what made me happy.
By changing the way I consume and by buying less things I don’t need, I would reduce my need to generate more and more cash, and only then, I would be able to use my time wisely and I would achieve real work days, moving towards my goal. The less I was enslaved by the money system, the happier I was.
I surely don’t have a recipe for success, but I think the key to failure is distraction and illusion of working by counting hours instead of milestones.
Running after money is a necessity, but it’s not a reason to forget what matters the most: your happiness and your goals.
I hear a lot of people complaining about how hard it is and how it has been so long they’ve been working so hard, but it’s still a struggle every day and nothing gets better. That is because they mistake operational tasks and cash race with real work.
I’m not avoiding operational tasks, but I keep in mind that they are not what will make me happy. I don’t convince myself that I’ve worked like crazy after a 10-hours day filled with noisy tasks. If I need 5 hours of thinking, and goal driven actions, then I’ll have to make room for them.
The rest is just highly important procrastination.
Some key steps in changing your approach to work:
- Find some daily/weekly time to think, alone.
- Learn to identify what really matters.
- Audit how you spend your free time.
- Audit how you spend your time at work.
- Make adjustments to meet your new expectations.
- Observe your life change. and iterate.
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