What does it take to get over excessive Work Hours ?
Per my conversations with friends, colleagues and others - general observation is that folks are working excessively long hours (and in some cases more than 12 hours a day) - and I am also not in any different category!
Generally speaking, it's great for cos since the productivity has gone up by 15-20% (no long commuting hours to work, no long lunches, coffee breaks etc) and people are generally producing in excess of 8 hours a day (generally plugged into back to back calls - Zoom, Teams, GMeet, Virtual Conferences, etc). Needless to mention, it does sets in fatigue, burn-out and some times mental health issues to cope up with these extreme working conditions.
So What Does it Take to Get Over these long hours ?
These are my principles which I have been following and generally working decently well.
- Find a reason to smile: In the middle of all these back-to-back meetings / calls, I am sure there will be something which you can dig-in, to really bring that hidden smile in you. There is always a reason around you that can make some mental gut smiling - funny email, colleague's birthday, kid running around the room during a call, professional appreciations etc. There will always be something that you need to cling-on and think "Guess what ! It's always not that bad !"
- Resetting You: Sometimes when life gets in one long monotonous highway, it's always good to take a slight detour to reset yourself. Finding yourself will be important to think beyond the call of duty and redeeming / questioning the very intent or the purpose. It's never bad to take few steps back and go in again, with a slight different you and redefined purpose.
- It's okay to say No: When you are swamped with these endless meetings or never-ending highway; it's important to assess how much you can deliver in a decent productivity level. The moment you are gazing the stress-level hitting a threshold, it is not bad to say NO to additional work, which can hamper your productivity, as well as bring-in that unnecessary stress levels. Sometimes, confiding with the manager is not that bad, to really have that open conversation.
- Do something which you enjoy: I really used to enjoy hitting gym regularly (or doing some other fun stuffs), but this post pandemic era changed the easy side of life, which made me realize that the happiness quotient will soon evaporate. It's really conducive to bring-in some kick-ass old habits back - force yourself to shut-out and just get that fun person in you to do something different. I am sure, we can squeeze out 30min from daily lives.
- Make Our Life Great Again: I am not stealing lines from Mr President, but there always something in us, which want to bring that best and gives that control in life which we somehow neglect. Never too late to bring that life quotient back in the driving seat.
- Chase your Dream, Not Hours: I have always believed that chasing and fulfilling dreams probably stands-out in personal or professional life. It is not that relevant where are you working but it matters what are you working at ! And, when you realize that what you work incidentally is your dream - probably you have landed in the sweet spot !
There will always be work pressure, there will always be those long hours, there will always be fatigue / stress - but when you realize that Reset button is also with you. Bring that greatness in you back again, and put that smile to face this uncertain time.
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2 年Shashank, thanks for sharing!
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4 年Keeping 30 mins a day for ourselves specifically in physical activity will definitely bring back the happiness & overall healthy life .!
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4 年I agree Shashank. Having a sense of balance is key in these times. Thats the key to staying happy and productive.