It seems that there is no such things as a normal work day anymore.
Most people–seem to do work every day (weekends etc.) and at all hours of the day. No wonder so many of us are… running ragged, swamped, buried, slammed, drowning… well you get the idea!
The fact is we are all connected to our job and the world 24-7. My hypothesis for our rapidly changing and moving world is that there really is no such thing as just having "work hours" (i.e. 8-5 MON-FRI) anymore.
We are connected– all the time– with starts and stops in our work! I call this… "work moments." Work moments mean we start one thing or "six things"… then stop, then get distracted, or get a "curveball" thrown at us etc. Work moments are not all bad and in fact can be a good change of pace! However, they are different!
When we are totally focused we are more apt to get things done. However, the problem is when we get distracted and thus, behind– it is hard to get out of the hole. Many people say they cannot remember a time when one of their "full time jobs" was not simply reading and answering emails.
Imagine that– what did we do in the good old days (mid 1990's) when email was in infancy and we got only a few of them a day? Oh yeah, people called each other?
So, now and in the years ahead– I predict we will see "work moments" become more the norm and the traditional work week go away. Organizations, are slow to change, and will continue to have official "office hours" but with smart devices and social media connection tools attached to us– every minute of the day.. it will become more difficult to define the boundary between personal and professional time– and disconnect.
So…I recommend that we take purposeful breaks to simply "disconnect." If you do not have some down time you simply cannot "recharge" and then be back at your best!
What do you think?
Ryan T. Sauers
@ryansauers
@everyoneinsales
www.facebook.com/sauersconsulting
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