<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
Eat food. <\/span>Not too much. <\/span>Mostly plants.<\/span><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n <\/i><\/p>\n
Last week, after reading his latest book–Food Rules–I
\nrealized that his simple, back-to-basics approach to food could also be applied
\nto work. <\/span>I spent the better part
\nof this morning developing my own pr\u00e9cis of work wisdom. <\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
Work
\nintuitively. <\/span>Almost everyday. <\/span>Rest deeply.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n <\/i><\/p>\n
Let me explain why I chose these six words. <\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
Work Intuitively<\/u>. <\/span>After I began working from home, I realized that I had been
\nworking counter-intuitively–that is, against my own natural rhythms–for
\ndecades. My former modus operandi<\/i> at
\nwork involved tackling my inbox first thing in the morning–instead of taking
\nsome time out to conjure up new ideas, plan my day or read proposals while my
\nmind was relatively clear.
\n<\/span>Within an hour of being in the office, my head would be spinning, and
\nI’d be frustrated with the deluge of tasks and meetings I’d have to get through
\nbefore going home. <\/span>Now, whether
\nI’m working from the office, or my home-office, I try to organize my schedule
\naround my personal peaks and valleys–so that I’m maximizing my effectiveness,
\nand tailoring my day to my particular mood and energy level. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n
But working intuitively is about more than superb time- and
\nself-management. <\/span>It’s about using
\nyour gray matter to do your soul’s work.
\n<\/span>It’s about taking your heart with you to the office everyday, and
\nknowing that it won’t ache for meaning and connection afterward. <\/span>It’s about doing work that counts<\/i>, that is, work that will nudge
\nthe world even one millimeter closer to inclusion, sustainability and
\ninterconnectedness. <\/span><\/i>When you are doing work that you ought
\nto be doing, you intuit that all of it<\/i>
\nmatters, from the high-level strategy meetings down to the tiniest
\nadministrative tasks. <\/span>I believe
\nthis philosophy of work is contained in two simple words: Work intuitively<\/i>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
Almost everyday<\/u>. <\/span>I passionately believe that we should work nearly every day
\nbecause human beings thrive at work.
\n<\/span>Work gives us purpose. <\/span>It
\nbrings us in contact with our natural gifts and talents. <\/span>It connects us to others. <\/span>It enables us to learn, and to grow. <\/span>We think we want<\/i> more leisure, but what we really need<\/i> is to work hard, in many different areas of our lives. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n
On some days, I need to work at building knowledge, so I
\nread, interview interesting people or attend a workshop. <\/span>On other days, I need to work at strengthening
\nmy personal relationships and so I schedule plenty of time for meetings,
\ncoaching and having honest conversations with colleagues and friends. <\/span> <\/span>There are days when I need to work on my small garden, or my
\ncluttered closets. <\/span>I have days
\nwhen I need to work at being a better daughter, sister, mother or partner. <\/span>Each day brings a broad range of
\nopportunities to work at becoming more fully yourself, and more tightly
\nconnected to those around you. <\/span>If
\nyou work intuitively, almost everyday, I’m certain your life will add up to
\nsomething wonderful. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n
Rest Deeply<\/u>.
\n<\/span>Resting is hard. <\/span>We think
\nthat we’re well rested when we’ve gotten 7 or 8 hours of sleep. <\/span>But rest, like work, is complex and
\nlayered. <\/span>True, our bodies need to
\nrest. <\/span>But so do our minds [That’s
\nwhy taking a day off work doesn’t count if you’re checking your blackberry
\nevery 3 minutes.] <\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
And not only do we require mind and body rest, we need to
\nget rest in lots of different forms [not unlike the way our bodies craves
\nvitamins and gets them by eating fruits, vegetables, grains, fats and<\/i> proteins.] <\/span>Sometimes we rest deeply by simply staring out the window of
\na car, train or plane for hours on end.
\n<\/span>Deep rest might arrive after a long conversation or while sitting
\nsilently in front of a setting sun.
\n<\/span>Sometimes we need to rest alone, and sometimes rest arrives in the arms
\nof another. <\/span>If we want to work
\nintuitively, almost everyday, we need to embrace the necessity of deep
\nrest. <\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
Now that I’ve explained my 6-word synopsis on work, I’d like
\nto hear yours. <\/span>What six, or seven,
\nor eight word combination best sums up your philosophy of work? Email it to me,
\nwith a brief explanation of why you chose each word, and I’ll try to feature as
\nmany as I can in future posts. <\/span>You
\ncan reach me at: taz@reciprocityfoundation.org<\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Michael Pollan famously summarized everything you should know about eating in 7 words (in an article in the NY Times): Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants. Last week, after reading his latest book–Food Rules–I realized that his simple, back-to-basics approach to food could also be applied to work. I spent the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":221,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,5,6,4,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-by-taz-tagore","category-full-potential","category-integrative-thinking","category-mindfulness","category-work-life-balance"],"yoast_head":"\n
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<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n