5 Things to Think About (no. 2)

Are you spending too much time on the job?
So, I hope that you have now read the previous post about 5 Things to Think About and that you have now already transformed your thinking about your job.  Yip, all in a few days.  No, seriously, that would be impossible but I need to continue the journey with you.  I know that each of these points actually need a book to be written and indeed there many books on the subject(s).  That is why I am not writing a book for each of these and why my posts remain on the Internet so that you can come back and reflect.

For now I would like to move on and start a conversation around how much time you spend at work.  Sure you don't have control over it because your boss...  Hang on!  Have you ever questioned the assumption that you have to be at work for a specific amount of time?  How about challenging the current practices and actually asking if you have to be around for the whole day?  This is perhaps the most radical but on the other hand you could also question the tasks, meetings and mundane/repetitive work that you do.

I meet too many people that just take it for granted - 'that's the way it is done...'  Really?  Come on!  Wake up and ask some questions:  "Could this be done in half the time and double the fun?", "how necessary is this really?", "could this be done later?", "does the client really need this now?", "could this be automated?" etc.
I guess at this point we need to talk about fear.  I know that we all have fear that come in the form of  "yes, but..." objections to the suggestions I have just made above.  The reality is that if you don't even have the courage to step up where you are right now, how can you even start dreaming of achieving your bigger dreams of freedom?  Remember this blog is about going from survive to alive and sometimes it is the smaller opportunities that we overlook consistently that can actually be turned into our steps to inner-freedom first.  The kind of freedom we get from facing our fears and that translates into external victory.

In the past 15 years or so of doing casual, full-time, part-time, corporate, small business and self-employed work the biggest lesson that I have learned is that I would rather ask for forgiveness than permission.  Here's the reality:  If you ask for permission you put your cards on the table and lose all your leverage.  If you simply execute and make it a success without asking the 'powers that be'  you will have much less resistance.  If they are still resistant to change it is always best to ask "can we at least try it for a trial period?" or "don't you think it is reasonable?"  If you get ultimate resistance you should perhaps start asking more courageous questions like "is it time to move on and continue challenging yourself and growing in a different place?"