Taking Action

I think I am on personal development overload.  They say you can have too much of a good thing, right?  The only reason I say that is because I have been feeling like I am taking in more information than I know what to do with.  I believe the term for that is “askhole”.  I keep looking for, or asking for advice, but never do anything with it. #guilty

This time I am deciding to take some action on a request that was given to me to write down 60-80 qualities of a job that would appeal to me.  First off this sounds like a pretty daunting task, but I’ll give it a whirl.  Secondly I need to surrender those qualities to the universe and see what I get.  That doesn’t mean just write them down and forget about them either.  This assignment really got me thinking though on which things I value most in a job.

The very first one thing that comes to mind for me is this magical 40 hour work week.  I’d really like to know who decided that 8 hours a day 5 days a week is really most productive.  I understand that some companies have ventured away from the stereotypical 8 hours a day thing, but for some reason most companies seem to still be stuck on this 40 hour work week.  If I can get a task done in 30 hours a week, why can’t I just stop there?  The answer to that question typically turns into, well since you have free time let’s load you up with something else to do.  Then at the same time it takes another individual 50 hours to complete the same task. That person will then either be given more time to complete the task or get paid OT to get it done. I understand life’s not fair and I don’t like comparing myself to other people, but I would like a job in which I am paid for my effort and efficiency.  If I get my work down effectively let me have those “extra” hours back.  On the flip side, if I am doing something I love or something that gives me more time with my family I don’t mind putting in the extra hours.

Another thing that really jumps out is vacation time.  If I am going to take some time off please don’t call or bother me. There are some rare occasions that I will tell people if they need something urgent to message me, but in those instances I am controlling and owning the situation.  Maybe I feel like its ok because I know the world isn’t going to come crashing down overnight.  Most of the time though I know I am not the sole keeper of information.

The more I think about it the more I can come up with more things.  Money is another one, but maybe surprisingly not the most important.  I am trying to build a bottom up approach to making money instead of making a blanket statement like “I need to make $100K to be happy”  If I have no idea where that money is going I have no idea if that is enough or maybe even too much.

So what’s one thing you’ve learned in the past few days that you are willing to take some action on?  It doesn’t need to be the same as mine and unless you are struggling with the same life choices I hope it’s not.

As a side note I am using the term job here intentionally.  I believe that a career is more than just a title.  If you are on the right career path your job title might change but your underlying “why” will not.