However, a lovely day out yesterday at the local park and farm, with my wife, Leanne and my daughter Mia snapped me out of it.
Whilst running to get ice cream, pulling branches to create flower showers, and stroking baby lambs I realised a few things.
These 'things' had been introduced to my mind a few hours previously whilst waiting for the bath to run - when I got a chance to literally flick through Re-work. A classic book by 37 Signals.
2 pages literally jumped out at me. One on Workaholism which I fear I might be slipping into again under the guise of 'start up zeal' and the other is something I think the whole team I am working with needs to ask itself - why do we do what we do?
Both are BIG thoughts for now 9.00am on a Monday morning. I hope they inspire you to act before spring has gone.... :)
Workaholism
Working more doesn’t mean you care more or get more done. It just means you work more.
Has there ever been a time when you’ve felt wildly overworked? I’m pretty sure everyone will answer in the affirmative to that question. Now let me ask you this:since you are your own boss, why do you choose to work yourself like a slavedriver?
While you could probably give me any number of reasons to validate your workaholism, the simple fact is that overworking is not necessary. There is always a better way — a more efficient way — to get things done. You just need to figure out what that way is and apply it to your business.
I grew up with a father who was obsessed with his work. He dedicated more to his business than he would now say was healthy. I am determined to avoid the same mistake he made — I am passionate about leading a balanced life that involves work and play in equal measures. I am sure you feel the same, and yet so many of us still overwork ourselves.
Our culture celebrates the idea of the workaholic. We hear about people burning the midnight oil. The pull all-nighters and sleep at the office. It’s considered a badge of honour to kill yourself over a project. No amount of work is too much.
How many times have you come across someone who acts as if their ridiculously long working hours are something to be proud of? Can you actually recognize times when you have acted in that way yourself? It’s utterly absurd when you stop to consider it — why should working too hard be something you’re proud of? Wouldn't building a successful business while working reasonable hours be more impressive?
You may say it’s all very well and good to say that one should work less, but how do you actually go about doing it? Well, I certainly don’t have all the answers, but I think Rework offers some quite compelling statements for you to consider carefully:
- Workaholics wind up creating more problems than they solve.
- [Overworking] isn’t sustainable over time. When the burnout crash comes — and it will — it’ll hit that much harder.
- [Workaholics] try to fix problems by throwing sheer hours at them. They try to make up for intellectual laziness with brute force.
- No one makes sharp decisions when tired.
- Workaholics aren’t heroes…The real hero is already home because she figured out a faster way to get things done.
I like that last one especially. Give it some thought.
Reasons to Quit
It’s easy to put your head down and just work on what you think needs to be done. It’s a lot harder to pull your head up and ask why.
No one likes giving up. It can be relieving to do so but it’s rarely a good feeling. After all, we live in a culture that directly associates giving up with failure. If you stop trying to do something, you have failed in your endeavor.
That may be the case, but I’d rather fail than carry on regardless. Surely applying yourself to something that will eventually fail is far more of a failure than recognizing the futility of your efforts and calling it a day ahead of time?
If you ever feel like you are going down the wrong path or that the work you are doing is not necessarily in your business’ best interests, take a moment to ask yourself the following questions:
- What is the motivation behind what you are doing?
- Who benefits from what you are doing?
- What problem are you solving?
- Is what you are doing useful?
- Are you adding value?
- Is there an easier way?
- What could you be doing instead?
- Is it worth the time/cost/stress?
These are great questions for anyone working in the start up to ask themselves, or any business for that matter. Is there an easier way? Who really benefits from what you are doing? All BIG questions for our team meeting today. Time to get "springing" into action at Justaxi in Manchester.
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