Monday - the New Friday!
The day is Monday. You show up for work and begin your normal shift routine. We all have heard, and likely expressed ourselves, the cries of the Monday blues. This dread is even felt prior during Sunday as you anticipate the inevitable approaching work week. This feeling of dread doesn’t stop just there. It even follows us through the other days. The chatter of, “I can’t wait until Friday”, is all throughout the work area. Why are we in this situation and is there anything that we can do about it?
Our current status has us trading 5 workdays for 2 days off (normally). We rush through 5 days with the intention of enjoying only 2 days off. How is that a reasonable trade? The true commodity pyramid has one top, and that top is our time.
“No amount of money ever bought a second of time.”
- Tony Stark
The money we get for our work could be good, but it can’t be the main point. Because we are using our highest commodity to earn our money, our time has to return more than just a paycheck. Each member of my team gets the same speech. The two-year-regret speech. This is simply where you take your current job, flash forward two years, and then look back. If you don’t take advantage of every opportunity that your employment has to offer, you are wasting your time. Now, if you plan out your steps, work with your management and the opportunities towards your goals, then looking back from those two years will give you a very different feeling than regret. Take ownership of your time! It’s not being replenished.
With that in mind, what happens to your approach to work when you are taking steps towards your goals and better utilizing your time? Each day becomes more than just punching the clock. That feeling of wasting your time is replaced with a plan and purpose… and that feels good. When you enter a situation that has a true benefit to you, more than just a paycheck, you don’t just enter it, you charge into it. Once this can is opened, everything becomes an opportunity building block for the steps to your success.
Let’s compare the two choices.
A. Go to work, punch the clock, hope for the weekend, and wait for someone to give you an opportunity. ☹
OR
B. Go to work, have a plan that builds you and your circumstances towards your goals, and take ownership of your future. 😊
Taking this approach in not as easy as just flipping a switch. It’s close to it, but we still must do some thinking. Think about what you want out of life and the current situation you’re in. If you’re not sure, start trying things out. As you move forward with your testing, the fog begins to clear, and your path starts to present itself. Next, put together a plan and begin taking steps forward. Your direct manager is a great resource for this type of planning, and both of you should meet regularly to discuss its progress. A great byproduct of this approach is an increase in passion towards your work. As your manager should understand, success rides up. As your passion increases, so does your overall performance. This is because you’re not just doing it for the company or a paycheck, but you’re doing it for yourself as well.
This won’t take away the pain of the work week. It will likely change how you view the activities throughout the week. If you find yourself wishing for time to go fast, then look into what you’re currently doing with your time. This feeling can originate from not getting return of value out of your time. Take ownership of your opportunities, start now, and find yourself excited about the coming days instead of dreading them. Once you can see the benefit of what you’re going into, it no longer only resembles dread. Your time is not getting replenished, and how we use it can greatly impact how we feel about ourselves and everything around us. Invest your time to create your future and make not just Monday, but every day, feel like a Friday!
What are you dreading and what can you work towards to get a better return on your time? Share below in the comments section.
Thanks for reading.
Rick V.
Sigmasmith