Avoid overworking yourself

Do you find yourself so busy that you have no time for yourself or family? Do you sometimes wonder why some apparently not so busy people seem to be doing better than you are? If so, there is something a miss and it could make you miss the essence of living. A man must work to earn a decent and moral living but man does not live to just work. If you wish to attain your goals, go places and enjoy life, you must plan. First, you must take cognizance of the fact that there is time to work, play and rest. Some old timers might imagine that they no longer need to play but play simply means entertainment (in whatever form). The culture of endless work has generally come to us through the modern rat race of wanting to attain certain lifestyles. This is especially a problem for many budding entrepreneurs, who not only want to make it, but also often find themselves in perpetually challenging straits. In Japan, due to the culture of excellence, compounded by cutthroat competition, a number of people over the last decade have been dying of overwork. This is now gradually spreading to Rwanda and other parts of the world. People work seven days a week, but remain trapped in some kind of low-level equilibrium rut. Once you have established your personal and organizational goals for the short, medium and long-term, you need to work out strategies that take into account the need for an equitable balance between work and leisure. Do not just work. Always work with clear objectives in mind for the day, week, month, medium-term and long-term. Some of us work like in the allegory of a small boy who was trying to lead a large bull. “Where are you taking that huge bull?” a passer-by asked. “I don’t know yet,” responded the boy. “But when he decides where he wants to go, I’ll take him there.” Thus the boy, overwhelmed by the mighty bull, had no plans on the next move, yet he stayed put with the bull. Some of us work like the small boy; we have no idea where we are going despite being engrossed in our work. We are glued to taking the bull somewhere, without even knowing whether we are making progress or not. All we hope for is that we do more of what we are doing, but often before we finish, another task springs up and we slavishly embark on it, without even assessing how it fits into the overall scheme of things. As an employee, it behoves you to do a good job, implement all that your bosses ask of you and even do a bit more. That is a first good step; but do not end there. Understand clearly, why you are required to do what you are assigned. Know how your organization is bound to benefit from your input; but even more important get to understand how you can get ahead by improving the way you work. Understand how you can optimize the benefits of your efforts to your employer and ultimately yourself. Begin by setting simple and realistic goals on both your career and social facets. However, remember that while you aspire to attain your lofty goals you must be able to take care of your current needs to enable you to live long enough to reap what you are planning for your future. Work earnestly towards your goals but not at the expense of your health and/or social life. Working hard is a good thing, but working smart is a much better option. Working smart is usually the preserve of those who plan and live balanced lives. Once you have accomplished a good day’s job, stand back and ask whether there is another way you could have achieved the same results or better. Always look for better or more cost-effective ways to achieve certain outputs. Even if at any time you are ranked top, do not rest on your laurels, there is a possibility of attaining higher efficiency and effectiveness in whatever you do. Always seek to make that marginal improvement and you will be surprised how your work and returns will grow several-fold. Always look for ways to improve how and what you do, however small the improvements. In other words, enterprising people must always seek to improve the processes and products of their work. However we must seek to improve the quality of our play and rest facets, otherwise we fall into a rut and become victims of stress. dedantos2002@yahoo.com