Tired and Sick

I recently began redesigning my position at work. The objective was to include only those tasks that I really enjoy doing. The remaining duties and responsibilities were divided up among other team members.

It has only been a matter of days and I already feel lighter, more energized, and focused in my thinking. With every responsibility I pass on, I am able to focus on the work I love and do best.  The workload is just as heavy but it is not nearly as oppressive. It’s bearable. Heck, it is actually fun!

We tend to wear a lot of hats, especially when we work in small companies or on lean teams. Sometimes we end up taking on work we have no business even doing. In my case, that would include anything involving QuickBooks. But, there is work to be done and so we step up and try to do whatever we can to move the business forward.

While our intentions are good, the long-term results are not always positive. There are consequences for working outside our natural selves for hours each day. We become stressed, irritable, zapped of our energy, and scattered in our thinking. In severe cases we can actually become physically sick.

My situation is a bit unique. We don’t always get to write our own job descriptions. And the fact is that we should be able to stretch and work outside our comfort zones some of the time. Ideally that would be about 10 percent of our day. That means that 90 percent of our time should be spent doing work that energizes and uplifts us. I would love to know how many people actually spend the majority of their day doing work they love.

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