#8 | Work as an exercise
I went to a spinning class for the first time last weekend. The class was fast-paced and the instructor was very high energy.
“Think about what you want to get out of this class.” She said, as we were trying to follow the beat of a 180bmp song and doing pushes at the same time.
What an interesting question! The default answer might be “to get some workout in”. You come to the studio, you spin, and you get it over with. What if there’s more to it? What if it was less transactional? Why spinning instead of running when both are great cardio exercises. Why on a Sunday morning? What else could benefit from this one particular spinning class, when exercising was almost a guaranteed side effect?
This reminds me of work.
Getting paid is almost a guaranteed side effect although the range varies. What else can come out of a 40-hour (give or take) weekly exercise? What if it was less transactional?
At work, I found myself jumping from one rabbit hole to the other. All the questions from my product team seemed interesting and the information I had was not substantial enough to suggest a clear solution. Inevitably I spread myself too thin to concentrate on any of the projects. I noticed the same pattern outside of work: the long list of hobbies and overwhelming pressure where I tried to do everything.
What if the job is also a great opportunity to practice living life with more intentions?
I started to practice prioritization at work and really tried to focus on no more than 2 major projects per day. I noticed as a force of habit I started to ask myself what would bring me the most joy everyday.
Work is a great place to practice prioritization because there is a lot going on and I constantly receive feedback on the way I did my work. It felt like a muscle that’s being exercised - I was able to apply the same mindsets even outside of work.
What do you want to get out of this work? Did you learn anything about yourself today?
Until next time.