Too Busy for Your Own Good (54 page)

It's a radical idea, I know, but think about the possibility that you can actually
change
your job rather than quit it. You can cut back hours by going to ten hours, four days a week. Factor in your commute time, cost of lunches, clothes, day care savings, physical and mental health, and quality of your life.

You can change your job by telecommuting one or two days, saving time, money, and brainpower. Working from home not only cuts the cost of fuel, tolls, and fares but also cuts the hours you spend commuting to and from your job. One or two days a week in your sweats will save on purchasing and maintaining work clothes. Women, think of
the time you'll save by not doing the full makeup-and-hair thing. Men, shaving can be optional. With increased comfort and decreased interruptions, you'll find that you'll be more focused, creative, and productive.

With any change in an organization, don't approach your boss and say, “Can I telecommute/change hours?” The old saying “It's better to beg forgiveness than ask for permission” applies here. Craft your “forgiveness” by saying, “I've found that I can complete my paperwork more accurately and on time when I work uninterrupted at home. I'll be working from home on Wednesday for the next four weeks. If you are unhappy with my work, I'll go back to my regular schedule.”

With any change, always

Make an appointment for the request.

Prepare your presentation with documentation or proof.

Talk of benefits the company will get, not you.

Working from home presents new challenges for separating your work and home life. Add to that working
with
your spouse or mate, and it could eliminate all your personal time if you're not vigilant. My neighbor and friend, Linda, is a highly successful artist who has her studio downstairs in her home. She creates beautiful paintings on silk, and her husband runs the business side of her art—she's the passionate, creative artist, and he's the pragmatic executive. This difference in outlook and separation of duties makes it difficult to keep business from invading their “us” time. She told me, “We need to be ruthless about keeping the business separate. We have friends over for fun, and we
take trips where we can get away from it all, but we mostly need to guard against the little things like business discussions during dinner or thoughts that come into our head as we're dozing off to sleep: ‘Did you remember to . . . ?' or ‘Remind me tomorrow that we need to call . . .'” Keep in mind:

Set and stick to regular hours for working
. This enables your mind (and body) to switch gears to being present to where you are—either work or home.

Develop a way to “close” your home office
. Shut the door, put up a screen, throw a tablecloth over it, hang a “gone fishing” sign on the computer screen. It's the old adage: out of sight, out of mind.

Leave a mess occasionally
. You don't need to clean your desk for privacy or for appearances' sake. When you're working on a large, complex project and it's quitting time, leave all the papers and files in place with a sticky note where you can pick up where you left off.

Don't check e-mail after 6
P.M
. or before your “opening time.”
It will help you stick to your “office hours” and prevent “just one quick check” from consuming your evening with a response.

Turn off your electronics when it's family or me time
. That call, text, or e-mail alert is rarely convenient and always diminishes quality time.

Have a “switch gears” routine
. Do a sequence of activities in your home workspace that marks changing gears from home to work. Just a simple, easy system: open door; adjust lighting, music, and ventilation; get fresh glass of water; take a few deep breaths; perform a few light stretches; invoke a higher power; and smile.

How often have you gotten yourself so worked up at work because you've confused
what
you do with
who
you are? This happens when you're pushing the limits of your job—taking on more assignments, landing the big account, getting the promotion, banking the bonus—and you just seem to eat, sleep, and breathe your career. You can't seem to switch it off, because work is all you do. But no job or promotion can define your worth. You define your worth. Remember:

You are not what you do
. You are the sum total of your thoughts, beliefs, experience, commitments, and actions.