Family Friday: Working Hard or Hardly Working

I think I work fairly hard most of the time, I tend to get a lot done, and I’m happy with the results up to this point (especially in the last five years or so), but I’ve learned something recently. I get this nagging feeling sometimes that I am working too late into the day, that I should be “knocking off” work earlier and spending more time with the family. The problem, however, is that when I do quit for the day I have this urge to get back to it, a feeling that I am not working hard enough, etc. I know I should quit for the day, I know my family is more important than my work. So what is really bothering me? The real truth is – I’m not working all the time I think I’m working.

I discovered this recently when I mapped out my ideal week. I’ve recently trimmed my work down to four major components – a client whose mission I care deeply about, a client that gives me intellectually challenging work that pays the bills, a startup that will transform the way we learn, and an organization I am starting which will help young people learn to detect bullshit.

Since I am committed to those four things and nothing else professionally, I decided to carve out time loosely so they all get the time they deserve. I’ve tried to block out appointments with myself and the like before but I’ve always gravitated back toward the GTD mentality to not schedule anything on my calendar that doesn’t absolutely need to be done at a certain time. This is different. I started with an example spreadsheet and modified it for my needs. After a few days of referring to it, I decided to go ahead and add these blocks of time to my calendar. I know that I can move them around when I need to.

Sticking to it has been liberating and enlightening. I’ve always suspected that I waste a little time but this, and what I learned a couple of weeks ago, shows me that I can get a handle on it. And it gives purpose to my day. If I work the plan, I feel very comfortable quitting at 6:30 and I don’t think about work like I used to.