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Work habits can trap us if we’re lazy. Saying “Well, that’s another one down,” can seduce us.
Of course relying on a few good work habits can streamline our efforts, but we’re wrong to feel productive if we pursue easy tasks, instead of important goals.
Our first responsibility is to focus on what’s important. Not on what’s easy, or what Steven Covey calls “urgent trivialities”. We benefit when one of our work habits is to frequently re-examine our regular work habits.
Here is why I am thinking about this. Yesterday I mentioned to a friend that I just had an opportunity to re-assemble my life. What an optimistic perspective – seeing a problem as a blessing! Not to mention being over-dramatic, huh?
What happened? Earlier this week my Macintosh suffered a hard drive malfunction. Now as I gradually recover pieces of my data, I’m finding myself asking over and over, “Now, why am I doing THIS?”
This “re-assembling” process is a revelation and a relief. I’m examining my work habits as I continue to unburden my day-to-day life. For example, I find I am no longer interested in giving another minute to regularly reading THESE newsletters or THOSE blogs, updating THESE accounts or subscribing to THOSE services.
And e-mail — what a distraction that can be! Worst thing is starting the day reading the latest emails.
You may say this re-prioritizing is a brutal way to remember to put first things first, but I’m grateful for the opportunity.
Magnolia Jazz Band in San Jose 2012
To mention one example, I use social media to market my band for weddings and parties. Here we are entertaining at a recent party to benefit the AIDS Lifecycle Fundraiser. Amy Dabalos is singing a few tunes with us. Thanks for the photos, Jo-Lynn Otto.
Every day you’ll find me all over social media like this blog you’re reading, as well as Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, YouTube, and all the rest.
The fascinating online world continues to grow more interesting every week. And I am always tempted to let the tail wag the dog, as they say.
However, re-assembling my life helps me keep the ends the ends, and the means the means.
If YOU don’t re-examine your own work habits regularly, I recommend you develop this one work habit right away. Don’t wait for your computer to crash. It will, I promise. Just back up your data, and be ready.
How about you? Your own work habits keep you busy, whatever you do. Do you examine them regularly? And when disaster strikes, will you be ready to re-assemble your life?
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I completely relate to how a computer crash can make you rethink things! I had this happen to me a while back (and I wrote a blog about it!) because it really made me wonder what was missing, what was important, and what didn’t matter. I have gone through several versions of this (not all with a computer crash), figuring out where to put my time productively. It’s so easy to get lost in the sea of e-mail and on-line activities. I do best when I start my day with something focused and productive – not surfing the web or reading e-mail!
Judy Stone-Goldman
The Reflective Writer
http://www.thereflectivewriter.com
Personal-Professional Balance Through Writing
Thanks, Judy. We’re on the same page here! Sometimes I get lost in the swelter of “bright shiny objects”, as they say, but it’s usually my fault for losing track of what’s important. I keep reminding myself to stay focused, and I’m glad it doesn’t hurt much to temporarily lose my way.
It’s really easy to fall into the same work habits year after year. When they get shaken up it may discombobulate you and it will give you some great benefits as you found out with your work habits. Thanks for the reminder.
Thanks, Sue. I agree — shaking up habits is the story of my life. I’m habitually pushing myself off-balance, reaching beyond my grasp. For me handling a change feels easier that trudging through the “same-old same-old”. Seems to me it’s how I force myself to grow. Isn’t this true for everyone, to varying degrees?
I really appreciate the distinction you make between tasks and goals. Re-assembling our lives, and unburdening ourselves are processes unique to humans. Glad that this challenge opened up new possibilities for you and thanks for the reminder to back up our data!
Thanks, Maureena. You surprise me, suggesting that non-humans don’t re-assemble or unburden their lives. I really don’t know, of course, since my experience with them is so limited. The closest was with my cat, and I never could understand what she thought she was doing, or why. All I knew was what I could observe, but she acted as though she had habits and goals, so couldn’t she learn new ones and re-organize the old ones? Seems that she did so whenever we made a major change to her living arrangements or she grew unable to climb that tree in our yard. But she never told me what was on her mind. Heck, she never even told me what kind of music she enjoyed.
I have been through the crash more than once Robbie. Backing up constantly and I still have night mares that I am not doing it enough. As my business is changing, I am in the process of creating new habits and sometimes that can be a challenge when there are things I would rather be doing. Re-evaluating and re-designing is important and needs to be done often. Good information and a good reminder the BACKUP NOW!
Thanks, Cheryl. How often is enough? How often to you add to your data? Every day? Why not back up whatever you change every day? Set up an incremental system.
Also, and especially for “creative” people, we’re changing in some ways all the time. So like you say, we’re re-evaluating and re-designing our habits all the time. It comes with the territory, don’t you think?
I’ve not experienced this kind of crash, but I think I read this blog at the very right moment. I am re-evaluating where/how I put my time at the ways I go in and out of balance. In part, that’s why I wrote about resistance this week…
Thanks, Vicki. You forgot to write the word “yet” after “crash”. Trust me, it’ll happen, whether or not you’re prepared. Similarly, you’ve prepared for dealing with going in and out of balance. Nice blog. Those insights never run out, do they?
Very interesting. My hard drive didn’t crash but my video card did. But we realized we needed a back up system so we got a new one. I’m still reorganizing and deciding what I’m putting on this one. But I must set up the backups! And I haven’t yet. I know that is a major no-no, so that is becoming my number 1 priority this week.
Julieanne Case
Always from the heart!
Reconnecting you to your Original Blueprint, Your Essence, Your Joy| Healing you from the Inside Out |Reconnective Healing | The Reconnection| Reconnective Art
http://thereconnectivehighway.com
Thanks, Julieanne. Hope you’ll have your backup system up and running ASAP. Seems to me that backing up our data is like flossing our teeth. My dentist says to floss only those teeth I want to save.
Thanks, Jennifer. Watch out for that karma… Still, do you have to actually cut off your arm to understand that pain hurts? So don’t wait for the computer crash, but protect yourself now. Meanwhile, I have an opinion about our habits: All of them can always be improved, especially as conditions change over time. I think we’ll spend our entire lives striving to perfect them. Look that way to you, too?
I’ve been reexamining mine as well Robbie. It is a process and I’m still in it. There is much that needs to be changed for me to be effective. I’m still working on it!
Thanks, Susan. Keep at it! As far as I can tell, we’re all involved in THAT process, continuously. At least it’s true for me, and I’m far from a professional organizer or project manager. Musicians are always taking lessons, though. Does an organizer hire another organizer for help?
Wow! That one about emails is striking! Should I read them at the end of the day then? Not sure what to do….
Thanks, Rowena. Sounds like emails bury you. For me, emails are 95% distraction, and I regularly take a few minutes during the day to delete and/or unsubscribe most of what comes in. But I never begin the day with reading overnight emails. Instead I select something 100% important, and I DO IT. Maybe mid-morning I’ll scan emails for what I need to act on. When do YOU check your email?
OOPS, I see that this comment did not end up as a reply to your comment on my comment Robbie! Aaah Technology!
Well, I have a Carbonite account that backs up the data on my computer daily, a time machine backup that backs up the computer set up and applications and at least once a week I backup my external hard drives to other external hard drives. Have yet to find the system that is fool proof and does it all.
I am always re-examining! Always.