“Americans work longer hours than nearly anyone in the developed world, even the Japanese. For many professionals and corporate managers, the 40-hour work week is history; 60- to 80-hour work weeks are now the norm. Why do we work so much? The simplest answer is because we can.”
This quote comes from the TV news show 60 Minutes in April 2006. How right they were. For many, the new world of work never stops with the constant flow of email and social media ported through the desktop PC and the ubiquitous hand held device such as the Blackberry or iPhone.
Yet, the problem with this 24/7 work-style is obvious. Most people don’t know what really matters. Instead, they try to do everything, which renders the quality of their work to be marginal at best. Finally, the lack of purpose makes them unhappy and unfulfilled.
While I cannot pretend to have all the answers, doing what really matters is the best solution. You can start with answering these three questions:
1) What is your life about?
2) What do you stand for?
3) What are you doing to fulfill that purpose?
While these are not easy questions to answer, they can act as your life’s compass to help you make all the little decisions in life. This includes work. It will mean saying “no” to a lot of people, not answering e-mails, and defending your personal time. With this new focus you can say “yes” to relationships and activities that really matter in work and in life.
John Bradley Jackson
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