Are you working to live or living to work?
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Sandy and I were watching one of my favorite TV shows: HGTV’s House Hunters International. Catching 30-minute glimpses of other parts of the world’s culture and housing traditions really interest me. While watching a couple leave NYC for a town in Spain, the husband remarked that it will be difficult changing from “our culture of living to work to theirs of working to live.” Sandy matter-of-factly asked, “So which are you doing?” Ouch! But I own a business … and I have a handful of clients whom I serve … and I collaborate with team members every day … and I’m on a few community boards … and I’m chairing some active committees … and … ok, she got me there.
The problem is she measures my work by the hours I’m hard at it. I’m an early riser, and since moving our residence to the top floor of the building that houses our business, “early” has taken on an entirely new meaning. And it’s way too easy to sneak down there on the weekends. Because I’m in a profession where my role is primarily thinking on behalf of our clients and industries, I’m not entirely sure WHEN I’m not actually working. I can’t turn it off. So the only hope I have is balancing working and living. I’m blessed to have a wonderful – and understanding – wife, but I shouldn’t take advantage of that grace.
So, my New Year’s resolution is this: I’m going to spend more time living and less time working. Yeah, I know … my three-year-old YMCA access card still looks brand new. I haven’t lost (and kept off) those 20 pounds or learned to play the harmonica. But in my defense, I just haven’t had the time. I’ve been working a lot.