Welcome to another ramble ! #YoungProfessional
As a full time young worker, you will notice you will have to allocate your time wisely after work as it’s so short and life is so full (or so they say). So whenever I hear the “everyday” habits lists by “productivity gurus” I cringe a little. Why? Because it’s such a high bar that’s setting us up for frustrations. I say frustration and not failure because we can learn from failure but we tend to abandon things that lead to frustration.
See, when you’re working you have some good days when you’re done on time and can do the 1 or 20 things you like to usually do. BUT you also have some days when it’s 9 pm and you’re still working on a task that’s decided to be the pain of your existence and leads you to rethink all your life decisions that got you to this moment. On those “challenging” days guess what you want to do ? Run ? Hell no. Journal ? Only if it’s on some huge wall with multiple possible curse options and brush colors. 10 steps skin care routine ? Nope (and to be honest even on a good day that’s a commitment worthy of accolades) I digress, but on such a day all you want to do, is curl up in your bed and take a long nap.(or maybe it’s just me? who knows..)
This got me thinking, our habits need to compliment our lives not turn them into a nightmare. And who are we trying to impress anyways ? What imaginary trophy are we trying to attain? I know that goals and personal development are important things and we usually do them for our own benefit and growth. (No one other than us really cares and there is not trophy) Trust me that’s the case for me as well; but if today was my last day would I really regret not having ran or journaled or any of those endless productive items? If I’m being honest, not really.
I remember the first time I’ve heard about this “last day mentality”, take a look below at this quote from Steve Jobs.
“For the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: ‘If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today? ‘ And whenever the answer has been ‘No’ for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something”
Steve Jobs
I don’t think any of us wakes up wanting to be morbid, but with this virus wrecking havoc everywhere, I can’t help but think that there’s more to life, and more to spend our days on.
If today is my last day then boy would I feel cheated but guess what ? I’ve enjoyed those few piano fiascos and beautiful melodies, I’ve enjoyed laughing with my family and teasing my friends. All in all I’m glad I read and learned and worked and wondered, I’m privileged and thankful that I did. But journaling, meditating, running, skin care, or content creation (or whatever trendy productivity thing youtube is trying to shove down our throats that day) are not the things I found myself saying I wish I did more of.
To wrap up this ramble, that means (for me) habits, hobbies, and goals should be there to complement our lives, to support us rather than to be the focal point of our lives. Does that mean throw all your goals out of the window? Nope not totally, but instead of aiming for every.single.day. How about 3 times a week? or 4 times a week?
I think as young professionals we can easily feel guilt and pressure that we are not taking care of ourselves or our goals as maybe others around us are, but it’s important to remember we are doing all of this on top of our actual jobs or work. We are doing phenomenal, you are doing phenomenal, and I think we all need a reminder every now and then.
And guess what? A few is still more than zero and so it counts.
Till next time 🙂 !
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