Friday, December 19, 2014

The Joy Of Day-To-Day Work

Norah O'Donnell was interviewed for the November issue of More. Missed it, did you? At the very end of the article, she was asked a question about how she sees her future. She said, "...I guess one of the things that I still struggle with to this day is that focusing on the expectation of something is actually never fulfilling. Focusing on the day-to-day work is much more so. And then you end up falling into your goals anyway."

So true, so true.

Fixating on the big sale that's coming up, the conferences we're going to attend, the speeches we're going to give...no. That kind of activity, if you even want to call it activity, rarely leads to a big sale, a conference, or a speech. It's the day-to-day work that does that. Focusing on that leads to those other things or something like them.

If you can enjoy the day-to-day work, focusing upon it becomes not just easier but sort of the point. And then you don't have to deal with the lack of fulfillment from dwelling on what might happen in the future.

This whole live-in-the-work-moment thing may be part of my problem with the holiday season. I actually like focusing on day-to-day work, dragging my laptop all over the house and peering into it. I like planning and researching and struggling to work out what I'm doing wrong. When I've had to be away from work for a few days for family or house issues, wrapping presents and baking on a weekday (baking on weekends is another thing), getting back to the day-to-day feels like the beginning of a vacation.

6 comments:

Jeannine Atkins said...

Well said! I like the computer dragging, too, and usually manage some, to keep a happier me, between wrapping and baking.

Gail Gauthier said...

My husband was laughing because last weekend he kept finding me working at the laptop on the kitchen counter. The kitchen counter is a mess now, so I have the laptop on the dining room table between meals.

DeAnna said...

I have SUCH a hard time focusing during the holidays. It really is the worst. My best advice is keep lists. Without them I'd be lost. LOL.

Happy Holidays!

Gail Gauthier said...

The lists I made this morning for the next four days are chilling. Though I did okay with today's.

Jen Robinson said...

I am reading this post having just returned to my home and my computer after 10 days in Boston. So happy to be back to my regular things, after traveling :-)

Gail Gauthier said...

I actually feel more rested today, working, then I did this past weekend.