Most of us carry smartphones in our pockets. Prior to the pandemic, this made it easy to check work email from the sidelines of a child’s soccer game, or fire off a quick message to a direct report while lying in bed. But why did we want to?!
The answer, I believe, is that we didn’t want to. But we did it anyway.
During the pandemic, we further blurred boundaries between our work and personal lives. According to a recent study, 7 in 10 professionals who transitioned to remote work as a result of the pandemic work on the weekends, and almost half of people who work primarily from home work more than 8 hours a day.
So now that the US seems to be emerging from the pandemic, will our boundaries improve? If we really don’t want to continue working so much, will we do it anyway?
Part of my job is to help my clients have a better work-life balance. However, before they can achieve this, they need to examine why they work so much in the first place.
You Have Inaccurate Beliefs About Your Workload
A lot of my clients tell me that they “have to” work as much as they do. There are usually two reasons they believe they have to do this: (1) They think long hours are required based on the volume of work they have, and (2) They believe other people expect them to always be available.
Work Smarter, Not Harder
There are a few things to consider if you think you must work a lot because of the amount of work you have: Could you get more done in the same amount of time if you learned to work more efficiently? Distractions are often the biggest obstacle to getting important work done. Learning to better manage their attention has helped my clients have more productive days.
Also, if you manage your responsibilities through some combination of appointments with yourself on your calendar, sticky notes, flagged emails, legal pads, spreadsheets, and maybe an app or two, you’re likely wasting a lot of time “managing” your work. This is like trying to do a puzzle when the pieces are scattered all over your house!
Reading, re-reading, prioritizing, and re-prioritizing tasks and emails in a frantic attempt to stay on top of everything is not only taking up too much time, it’s also causing you too much stress! Learning a comprehensive workflow management system is another way to get more done in less time.
Question Assumptions
The second reason my clients believe they need to work as much as they do is because they think other people expect them to be available all the time, so they find themselves constantly checking their communication channels, which inevitably draws them into work, regardless of the time or day.
If this sounds like you, my suggestion is to question that assumption. Most people tell me they are only sending emails during “off” hours (like evenings and weekends) because they happen to be thinking about it and want to “get it off their plate.”
Also, trying to conform to the expectations other people have for you is exhausting and ultimately futile. Experiment for at least a week with not checking your work communication after your workday is over. I bet you’ll find that most people don’t even notice.
You Have a Habit of Distraction
Another reason I find my new clients working during what should be their downtime is that most check their communication channels during their workday every 1-3 minutes. This is how often busy professionals receive an email, chat, text, phone call, or “drop-in.” When you allow this distraction so frequently, the distraction becomes a habit. And the habit gets reinforced every few minutes, so it becomes a really strong habit!
Once you are conditioned to this “constant checking” of your communication channels, you can’t “shut it off” just because the workday or work week is over. So this habit follows you into your personal time. You continue to check your work communication channels on your smartphone, and those work communications keep your mind rooted in work. Even if you decide not to answer the messages, just reading them means you aren’t getting the break you need that will allow you to recharge, and the distance you need that will give you that important fresh perspective.
Following are two ways to overcome this habit of distraction. The first is to embrace the attention management skills I referenced earlier. You’ll break that habit of distraction and it will become easier for you to disconnect.
The second is to make it harder for yourself to check work communication when you’d prefer not to be working. Try taking your work email and team communication apps off your phone. If you create some friction, so it’s harder to access your work than just tapping an icon on your device, you’ll be less likely to engage in the behavior. Another way to accomplish this is to keep your phone in another room in your house, out of reach, and on silent. If you use your phone for personal activities when you aren’t working, consider a free VOIP number to use for work that you can put on Do Not Disturb Mode and send directly to voicemail when you aren’t working. This makes all the difference in my own work-life balance.
You Have Control
When I train leaders, I help them support their team, including by helping these leaders reclaim their own downtime. Studies show that a boss's work-life balance is an important factor in the work-life balance of their employees. But the truth is, ultimately your own work-life balance is completely up to you. No one can “give you” better balance. You have to take it. And studies show that if you embrace your downtime, you’re likely to be physically and emotionally healthier, and it might even get you a promotion!
If you want to be efficient, you need to make the most of the resources you have available to you. But the truth is that your most important resources are not your time or your money or even your attention. Your most important resources are your body and your mind. And if your pursuit of productivity comes at the expense of your physical or emotional well-being, it is ultimately destined to fail. And if you work less, you might just find that you enjoy work more.
"do it" - Google News
June 15, 2021 at 07:40PM
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No One Wants To Work Too Much. So Why Do We Do It? - Forbes
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