We talk a lot about avoiding burnout and avoiding work on weekends. However, writer Shawn Blanc reminds us that work can sometimes help you recharge when it involves something that’s important to you.
Picture: H. Michael Karshis.
While you don’t always get a choice in the matter, working too many hours is something that we all need to avoid when we can. However, Blanc describes the difference here as “important work” and “busy work”, and he argues that it’s beneficial sometimes to work through weekends and even holidays when it’s “important work”. Here’s his explanation:
I wrote and researched a lot of my book, Delight is in the Details, when I was on vacation in Breckenridge, Colorado…When my wife and I had the opportunity to visit Hawaii in 2011, I spent hours every day writing.
What’s great about this type of work is that it’s true, important work. It’s not urgent. It’s not busy work. It’s important. My mind thrives on this type of “work”.
The same way many people still go on hikes and runs and to the gym when they are on vacation, why not also let our minds work?
There is a deeper issue that this points to, and it’s the issue of urgent versus important. The work we do that invigorates us, that moves us forward in our life goals — that IMPORTANT work — shouldn’t be reserved for evenings and weekends and vacations.
It’s a nice reminder that while you most definitely need breaks, rest and all that other stuff — keeping your mind busy and working is OK too. Just make sure you’re spending that mental energy on something that’s important to you.
How to Recharge [The Weekly Briefly]
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