Tag: Work

  • Distracted Today

    I set a schedule for myself and I try to stick to it. Wednesday is the one day of the week that is all my own. I don’t have any chores to take care of, no obligations to the family other than dropping off and picking the kid up from school. Wednesday is the day that I read short stories, write a review of one, and then work on my other writing.

    But not today.

    Everything has felt a little off.

    It started like normal. Got the family up, kid off to school, and went to the gym. Got home, settled in on the couch with a coffee, and started making the rounds of reading short fiction online, and in magazines. And I read for two hours, about 8 different stories, but my mind kept pulling me out of what I was doing. I was having trouble focusing, you know, just an overall difficulty at completing the simple task of reading, and thinking about what I had just read.

    It was a malaise that was coming over and around me. I was doing something for myself, that I enjoy doing, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that I should be doing something else. Something practical. Reading this morning started to feel like I was hiding out, avoiding, procrastinating away from what I should really be doing with my time.

    My mind wanted me to think about money and finances.

    We have a plan, which we have stuck to, but we hit a rough patch yesterday. Surprise medical bills, which delays our ability to pay down the debt. There is a chance that things could improve, but for the improvement to happen, I need to get a job.

    And that’s what is gnawing at me today; should I really be sitting around on the couch reading? Should I write a blog, when I should be updating my resume, searching Indeed?

    Clearly, I opted for the blog. I mean, I’m going to look for a job after lunch, and then get back to reading.

  • Love What You Do

    I had a conversation about work and working yesterday with a friend of mine who used to be my boss a couple of years ago. It was a video chat, as my friend lives on one side of the country and I’m on the other. Part of the conversation was to catch up, the other was a semi-interview as my friend was doing a little research on the jobs and careers that people choose.

    As we talked, I admitted that I have never had a job that made me excited to get up in the morning. I never rolled out of bed ready to greet the day and tackle work. I have had jobs that I enjoyed, but to be honest, what I have really enjoyed about working is the people I have worked with. I have made some really great friends, and I sure have laughed hard with a great many people. That is what I think of when I share the good memories of being employed.

    I can never get past the thought that my time is being purchased by someone, or an organization, for the purpose of making them more money. Sometimes it is a very equitable exchange, well balanced, thus not causing any friction. Other times, I have felt like I am being taken advantage of, and I don’t want to be there.

    My friend did ask me, what do I think would be the one job that would make me excited to get up in the morning, and I answered, none; I don’t think it exists.

    I do believe there are some people out there that do in fact, find that perfect job or career, and they are sure excited to go to work every day. My mom was a nurse, she always wanted to be a nurse, and she loved being a nurse. I know teachers that are like that, and small business owners – that is totally true, they love what they do.

    But the rest of us?

    What gets us excited in the morning are our kids, or our spouse, or our garden, or sports team, or travelling, or creating art, or whatever. I believe that there is a large group of us who feel and believe that working does not and will not make us happy. Working is a necessary evil to get us to the things that make us happy. Be honest, this isn’t a revolutionary thought. We all know this to be true. Most of us don’t like working no matter what job we have.

    When I finished my conversation with my friend, I started thinking, where did this idea come from that we should be joyous and contented with our employment? That if you are not loving what you are doing, then you somehow have messed up in life. That one’s being has to be related to their labor.

    I think it might be rooted in the question we were asked as kids; What do you want to be when you grow up?

    (But before you go! I need you to validate my labors, simply by liking this post, commenting on it, or even sharing it. It will help keep the unemployment rate below 4%.)