The Tortured Professionals Department

While we count ourselves blessed and fortunate to have the careers we do, the play on words is of course deliberate, referencing the new album of a similar name launched last night by an artist who will surely go down as one of the 21st century’s generational talents.? Yes, this cider-swilling, football-watching, rugby-playing dad of a 15-year-old daughter has come to know the works of one Taylor Alison Swift all too well (see what I did there?).

Anyone who follows music and pop culture is also familiar with Miss Swift’s recent exploits; re-recording her entire back catalogue to spite ex-manager Scooter Braun, churning out 8 albums since Covid alone. By creating a storyline about how each album personified an era in her career, she set off on a worldwide roadshow labelled “The Eras Tour”, selling out the world’s largest stadiums and breaking the internet.? A marketing genius.? But throughout all this, how on earth does someone that seems to transcend the measures of success find time to relax, nurture her relationships and find the space to enjoy a fulfilled LIFE??

Having just concluded our “Careers Week” at Autodesk, through conversations and panel discussions it became apparent how easily we find ourselves overwhelmed by the sheer volume of tasks and goals we set for ourselves. From career aspirations to personal development, nurturing our relationships or providing for dependents – the to-do list seems never-ending. In speaking with colleagues in other industries (names withheld!), staff satisfaction surveys regularly surface the topic as an area of concern, and little creativity offered in the way of really understanding how to address it systematically as individuals.? But what if there was a way to cut through the noise and achieve extraordinary results with less stress?

The understanding of what ‘balance’ actually means is the key, according to author Gary Keller (recommended reading:? The One Thing).? According to Keller, the notion of work / life balance is a myth; a mistake in thinking that only brings feelings of profound guilt and dissatisfaction.? His premise is simple yet profound: instead of spreading ourselves thin by trying to juggle multiple priorities, we should concentrate our time and energy on the one activity that will make every subsequent task easier or even unnecessary. You see, by straddling the line of putting compromised effort into everything, we lead a life of mediocrity.? Extraordinary results require extraordinary effort, so the notion of ‘balance’ while aiming to be successful is the underlying reason for our missed expectations.?

Instead, he speaks of envisioning life as having counterweights instead of a balance.? To paraphrase, we are going to have those weeks where we are a 9/10 professional and 1/10 partner or parent, because success that week required us to set up an event until 2am or host VPs at a series of roundtables to facilitate new business.? The counterweight is that we need to make sure that when we rest, we are 1/10 professionals and 9/10 in our personal lives, being completely present without the guilt of ‘doing nothing’. ?Being extraordinary at work will also require us being extraordinary at switching off from it.? That should probably be a bumper sticker.

But focusing on our “one thing” requires discipline and commitment. In the book, Keller describes the importance of time blocking, dedicating uninterrupted periods to our top priority and guarding against distractions. By establishing boundaries (a development area of mine – full disclosure!) and habits that support our focus, we create an environment conducive to high performance.

With that, I’ll be offline for 4 days for personal time off to host a friend in this beautiful city I live in.? A rare opportunity to spend quality time with an old high school friend I haven’t seen in a decade, I cannot wait to catch up on old times.? So in the meantime, please leave a message and I’ll get back to you :)

Best,

Dale?