Work Expands Time

Occasionally, I am responsible for a profound thought. It may not be profound to anyone else, but at least it's profound to me. I was reading an article in the latest Entrepreneur magazine on Burnout. Not the type of burnout I'm usually yelling about in the Ultimate Body Challenge.

This burnout is in regards to work. It's very similar to an exercise burnout. For instance, this morning at our 6 am Thai-Robics class, we burned out with pushups... "3 minute max." This is 100 pushups, in your own count, within 3 minutes. For some, it's a 2 minute max. And, then there is the 100 pushups in 1 minute. Well... let me tell you, no matter which max you're shooting for, your muscles burnout to "Total Muscle Fatigue." A term known in the fitness industry as TMF, or as many of our students will say... "Too Many Freakin'" pushups.

Anyhow, the same burnout can hit the body, not in the way of exercise, but in the way of work. Duh... It's something we've known for years. It's something I've known for years, but may have chosen to ignore it. The profound statement that really hit home with me in the article I read was, "Work expands time."

My heart and soul is in The Academy of World Taekwondo and Bodies in Motion. Not a minute goes by where I am not thinking about students, instructors, curriculum, marketing, finances, customer service, and on and on and on. If I allow it, it will literally consume my day, my night, and even my sleep.

If this work expands to enough walls, there is no longer room for the things that mean even more than the success of a business and that is 1) My health. 2) My family. Work expands time. Give work time, and it will expand in it. In fact, the statement is so true it should be a law in modern physics or something.

From my past blogs, you may have noticed that I like to leave you with something that is helpful. If you can relate to this statement of Work Expands Time, try this:

1. Define your workday. Whether you work an 8 hour, 10 hour, or 12 hour day... you must define it. For instance, once that final hour is up, you're done. Laptop stays at work, and Blackberry, iPhone, or Droid gets shut off. I promise, the feeling will be amazing!

2. Write on a sheet of paper your biggest roles in life. I use a Franklin Covey planner, so my roles were easily defined in the page separator. For me, I wrote:

- Husband: Share workload in the house. Define workday so that I can take the kids to give Rachel some down time. Schedule weekly date nights.

- Father: Define workday so that I can be home at a reasonable time to play games and do activities with my kids.

- Leader: Continue to organize our new operation to define rolls and to develop a general manager.

And, for your information, my roles will shift from week to week. Although, 2 are always on there (Husband and Father), the description changes according to how I feel my focus needs to change. I will usually have more roles, but this week, I only want 3 while I work on defining my work day.

Cheers!

Duncan Richardson
www.BodiesInMotionIdaho.com