Have to vs. Get to
Seth Godin has a great post up on Have to vs. Get to. He is referencing blogging. I apply it to careers and work-life balance. I chose my career because I get to do things like be a teen leadership club advisor. This sometimes means giving up Saturdays and sleeping less than 4 hours on hard floors. But I enjoy those weekends and see those things as things I get to do. The key is to avoid having to come in Saturday for things you HAVE to do. For example, I used to hate going in to supervise wrestling meets when I was a gym director. The coach was incredible with the kids and I appreciated everything he did, so it wasn’t that bad, but wrestling was never my thing. Getting out of bed those mornings was tough. I try to only put in long hours or work on weekends for my “get to” things and avoid doing so for my “have to” world. Luckily more of my job is “get to” than “have to.”
The topic of work-life balance has been big on the web this week. In an interview on his blog, Steven Covey, author of the 7 habits, tells us that there are no quick fixes to work life balance and
“First, you have to decide what is important. What do you really want to be and do with your life? What is your mission? What do you want people to say about you 30 or 40 years from now? Then, look at what is being asked of you and see if those things are a part of your life’s important goals. If not, smile and say “no.” If you’ve really decided what is important, you can become an agent in helping the people you work with, your family, friends and boss, know and understand your top priorities. This takes courage. It means you have to stand up for what you feel is important and help others understand why.”
Fast Company says that Balance is Bunk. Similarly to Seth’s take, they ask the question,
“I don’t look at balance as an ideal. What I look at is, Am I happy? If the answer is yes, then everything else is inconsequential.”
The Authentic Organization has a different take on Work Life Balance is Bunk while Tim Ferriss, author of The 4-Hour work Week: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich
I’m in agreement with Covey about identifying what is important. In my experience though a lot of wannabe corporate execs ‘convince’ themselves that getting more money so there family can have a better future is what’s important.
However their kid’s need a better present instead of jam tomorrow. Tim Ferriss get’s closer to it than most.
Gavin Allinson
http://www.outsourcesuccess.com