I’m going to be honest, I get a lot of validation from working. This isn’t validation I receive from others, rather, it is a feeling of worth that comes from my own perception of what it means to spend my time wisely.
Over the last seven years I have worked multiple jobs at once – a decision partially driven by this feeling of validation. It feels good to be a part of something larger than myself by working with a team and/or for an organization. The structure of tasks and projects and meetings is enticing, and the creative and professional collaborations that stem from many of my roles are invigorating. I feel important in some way when I have to turn down other plans because, “Sorry, I’ll be working.” I like to feel that I am putting my time and energy toward an outcome that benefits the team, organization, or mission to which I have committed.
Yet I can’t help but pay attention to challenges that arise with this work habit. I like to be busy with work because I don’t have to decide what to do with my time – the commitment determines what I’ll be doing. When working on my remote gigs in the early mornings, evenings, or weekends, I have to make a conscious effort to pull myself away from the to-do lists to assess the other ways I could spend my time.
Again, this is related to how I perceive time being well-spent. Working on a project that has a deadline, other people counting on me to get it done, and a larger goal that it contributes to, (not to mention something that allows me to receive income,) seems more important than me taking time to read that book sitting on my shelf or watch that movie friends keep telling me about. It even feels more important than exercise, or sometimes eating or sleeping (let’s be honest though, food almost always comes first for me…).
This puts me in a place where work has become my default. I look to my work commitments to fill my time, connect me to people, and give me a sense of worth. I feel odd, sometimes guilty, if I take an entire weekend away from work. And with the way I’ve infused my projects into my life, I almost can’t take that time off without missing something or having tasks pile up for me when I return.
As I reflect on the work habits that have become my norm, the saying that comes to mind is working smarter, not harder. I want to find ways to maintain the commitment to my work, as I am a young evolving professional, but I want to utilize my own study of time awareness to manage my work time more intentionally. This will no doubt be an ongoing process, but I want to share three strategies I have begun to utilize to work more intentionally.
1. Time Tracking
This is a habit that comes directly from my work as a freelancer. I accurately track the time I take working on tasks as part of my responsibility to my clients. However, for anyone who has ever done any type of freelance work, you know there is a lot that goes into managing freelancing beyond the task-related time commitment. Proposals, contracts, invoicing, bookkeeping, task organization, and more become the backbone of effective freelance management.
As part of my goal of intentional working, I track this unpaid time (for my personal recordings, not for my clients), as a way to build my awareness and motivate my efficiency. When I put a timer on for myself, it is easier to commit to getting these maintenance tasks done effectively rather than letting them drag on. Plus, with time tracking, I’m able to hold myself accountable for not working over a certain number of hours a day.
2. Project Blocking
To give you a better idea of my workload, I currently do organizational and virtual assistant work for two primary clients, work for a local coworking space, and am developing my coaching practice. With all of this it gets easy to jump from one to-do list to the next without giving myself the chance to take a break. It also puts me in a very reactionary place – if an urgent request pops up, I’ll pause whatever else I’m doing to jump to it.
What I’ve learned is that I’m much more effective when I block my various commitments by day. Each day I work at the coworking space, but I dedicate the remainder of the workday to one of my three other commitments. This way, I can still respond to that new request within a timely manner, but I don’t feel that I have to drop everything the moment something new comes up. This also allows me to reach an organic pausing point for the day when I finish the tasks I’ve put on my list for that client or project. I don’t feel the need to jump immediately to the next project because I know I will work on it in the next day or so.
3. Adding Other Activities to My Daily To-Do List
Anyone else know the satisfaction of a completed to-do list? Going back to my feelings of work validation, being able to break my tasks down by days (based on the blocking schedule I mentioned above,) allows me to create a manageable list of tasks I want to tackle each day. This structure lends itself to my general efficiency throughout the day (as I’m not stuck holding all these tasks in my head and trying to organize them and decide what to do next).
To-do lists also give me a space to add other activities I want to complete. When I work toward that completed to-do list I’m more motivated to actually exercise or meal prep, etc. when I’ve added those activities to my list. When it’s on my list, I’ll think about the time it’ll take me to complete the item, and from there I can create a game plan of how I want to spend my day.
When I’m efficient with my work, I feel validated, maybe even more so than when I’m not as intentional. Plus, when I apply these strategies to work more intentionally, I can feel validated without spending all my time devoted to work.
If you’re digging this train of thought and want to read more, I suggest this article.
What about you? Do you want to build toward working smarter? What are some tips and strategies that have been useful in your life?