There are two types of people. Those that were busting out the door EXCITED to do the work they get to do and those that really (I mean it, really, truly) did NOT want to get back to work today.
This post is for those that didn’t really want to do Monday (or Tuesday, or any of the other days that don’t start with S).
There are people on this here internet that will tell you that you should love your job so much that it doesn’t feel like work, that it is literally a dream come true to do what they do every single minute of every single day.
And those people are liars.
The truth, like Liz Gilbert says, is that every job has a shit-sandwich. Even if you’re literally doing your dream job….there’s something about it that sucks. That’s the wonderful thing about this life: it provides us with varied experiences for greater perspective.
This is really helpful to know because we’re fed this line about how incredible life is when you love your job, when you become an entrepreneur, when you hire people, when you build a team, when you get an advanced degree, when you climb the ladder, when you start working for that unicorn social start-up and you think that YOUR JOB is the key to happiness. It’s not.
Choosing to be happy is the key to be happiness. It’s hard.
Having a dream job is not a golden ticket and it won’t make you want to do the work any more than you want to do the work in front of you.
So. Where do we go from here?
You do one thing. Just one. Set a timer for 20 minutes and give it your undivided, all consuming, attention. You know, like you’ve given Netflix.
And then you do the next thing if you feel so moved.
It’s a TRAP
There is a trap when you decide to finally “get organized” and “be productive” you spend the first full week preparing to have the best month or year of your life. You plan things, you create new systems, you find a new calendar, you download a few apps and while you’re doing ALL of this work you’ve gotten nothing done. It’s a trap.
If you realize I’ve just described your current situation: Stop. Do one thing. Just one. Set a timer for 20 minutes and give it your undivided, all consuming, attention.
What would happen in 2017 if you gave this entire year THAT level of focus?
In spite of the pitfalls of your job.
What if you gave your work your FOCUS
not because you love it endlessly but because doing good work makes you feel
purposeful and that feeling rubs up so nice next to happiness.
I wonder what could happen.
I should say that I love my job. I love love it. And I was not itching to get back into the hamster wheel this morning. I’m okay with that. I’m on doing thing number 7.
Originally published at medium.com