I have posted on this topic before, but I feel it’s important enough to reiterate because most of us, including your’s truly, are not perfect at this. Too many times, we are worried about what comes next rather than focusing on what we are doing now. Our minds are so preoccupied with the next thing on our list that we don’t give what we are currently doing our fullest attention.
See if any of these scenarios apply to you…
When At The Office, You Are Thinking About The Beach
Maybe you work in an office, maybe you don’t. Either way, if you work, this applies. How many times are you at work and think about being on vacation, or at happy hour, or back home playing video games, or whatever makes you happy? I use to think that way all the time. Work was just something I did so I had the money to get to where I wanted to be and do what I wanted to do. When I was at work, I was thinking about everything else I wanted to do besides work.
When At The Beach, You Are Thinking About The Office
Now, you are finally on vacation, enjoying happy hour, or spending time doing what you enjoy…what pops up? Work!!! That’s right. We can let work bother us even when we aren’t at work. Have you ever had the crappiest night of sleep because you were stuck in a weird looping dream about work? The kind of dream that has you looping through the same problem never solving it? It is torture, all night long…getting a little sleep and hanging an annoyance over your head all night. Or how about when you are on vacation, on the beach, do you think about work? Maybe you don’t, but too many people do. That’s a sure way to ruin a vacation.
When At Work, Work. When At The Beach, Be At The Beach
Quite literally, when you are at work, you need to work. Put all your focus into what you are doing. No, you don’t have to think “work, work, work” for 8-10 hours straight. There are times where you take a break. Personally, I work in time blocks of three hours. Every hour and a half, I take a ten minute break. I use the restroom, get something to drink, have a conversation, and then it is back to work for another hour and a half. At the end of that time, I take at least an hour break to get something to eat or focus on something completely different.
When I am on vacation or away from the office, I do my best not to think about work. I don’t let it take up my personal time. If it tries to creep in, I squash it right away. I want to enjoy my personal time and don’t want to let work ruin it for me.
The Takeaway
The simple takeaway here is that when you’re at work, you work. When you’re at play, you play. Don’t mix the two. Sure you can have fun at work, as long as the primary focus is the work. You don’t want to come off goofy while in the office. That’s a sure way to go nowhere. But you can have fun and make your work fun. But while you’re at work, focus on work and building your career.
Now when you’re away from the office, be away. Don’t let work creep into your mind when you’re not there. I know this can be tough to do, especially with the stress work can add to your life. But you have to try. You have to pay attention to where your mind is. If your mind isn’t where it is suppose to be, bring it back.
If you want to be happy, you have to learn to be wherever you are. To make the most out of each moment is the goal. If that moment is at work, make it great. If that moment is at play, make it great. True happiness is found in what you are doing now, even if that now is just watching a show or working on a paper. Get the most out of life by making each moment great. And you do that by being there…being in that moment!!!