It’s okay to do nothing
In a world where we are constantly switched on and connected, why do we always feel bad and are made to feel so guilty when we do nothing?
Productivity is key. Don’t sit in that 2 hour meeting if you can find a solution, create a simple action plan or set objectives within 15 mins. Could that meeting have been an email? Think about how productive you are over a course of a day. I for one work better in the morning, my mind is alert and usually I ensure any mundane tasks until the afternoon or post lunch lull.
Outputs not inputs. You don’t get anywhere for working through lunch, getting in an hour early, staying an hour late. It’s the people achieving what they set out to do within the working day we should be learning from. According to a McKinsey Global Institute study, only 39% of an employee’s time is spent on role-specific tasks. The other 61%? Slogging through email, trying to find a missing file, or syncing with co-workers. Plus meetings.
Focus when you’re fresh. Treat this time as you would an important client meeting. Book out small blocks of time and avoid clicking the refresh button on your email or having a quick look at Twitter. Remember our ability to resist distractions declines throughout the day. The smallest distraction can drain our ability to focus, things like email notifications and having your phone in your eyeline.
It’s okay to do nothing. You shouldn’t feel guilty for eating a family sharing bag of salted tortillas, and a 4 pack of toffee crisps and binging your way through Netflix. As long as it doesn’t become the norm. “But all my peers are working hard and are more successful than me!”. We all know social media is a filtered, an obscure version of the life people want us to see.
It’s okay to not be busy all of the time.
I used to think I had to work every hour in the day, spend my evenings perusing that idealistic dream, #nevernotworking. It doesn’t work and isn’t something we should be shouting about for the next generation to believe as normal.We all have lives, partners who crave our attention, pets who want some treats or to play, an overgrown lawn that needs mowing, an endless list of jobs we’ve been putting off. Remember, BALANCE is KEY. Now give yourself a day off and have a lie in!
