It's Noon. I'm Done. Now What??

The economy has certainly slowed down as we get further and further into the COVID-19 restrictions and many of us are trying to stay as productive as possible. The trouble is that at some point, we run out of "meaningful" things to do. In this article, I would like to share my opinion on some important factors to consider as we make our way through this epoch:

1.) Law of Diminishing Returns

2. Task Orientation vs Time Orientation

3.) Self Development Opportunity

4.) Acknowledgment (and Acceptance) of the Uncontrollable

The law of Diminishing Returns suggests that after a certain amount of units, the return on those units is no longer proportional to the input. Think of drinking an ice cold Coke on a super hot day after strenuous activity. The first Coke you drink is a 10/10, the second is a 8/10 but the third is more like a 2/10 and so on (beer can actually take you into the negative as you get sick when you drink too much!!). The key is to determine the OPTIMAL amount of Coke to drink (or units of work to do). Once we get beyond that, we risk feeling like we are being ineffective and that can be very demoralizing.

This brings us to the concept of being Task Oriented vs Time Oriented. The Task Oriented individual decides on what task needs to get accomplished today, this week or whatever the deadline is to get it done (a farmer HAS to get the hay off the field before it rains regardless of the time it takes). Once the objective is achieved, the Task Oriented Individual can reflect on the accomplishment and then decide on the next task that is worthwhile doing.

The Time Oriented Individual will, in contrast, try to fill up a certain block of time with as many tasks as possible (or as few, depending on their work ethic) regardless of the meaningfulness of those tasks. There is a good body of knowledge that suggests that more impactful (and fulfilling) work gets accomplished in the Task Oriented vs Time Oriented model because people in the latter tend to make the task fit the time. eg. If a person is given a week to complete a project, they will likely take the whole week while that same task would be completed in a day if the deadline was 24 hours.

I believe that once I have completed the Tasks that are the most Relevant, Meaningful and Impactful, it is time to spend some time on Self Development. To me, allocating time on work related self development has to have the criteria of making me more RARE & VALUABLE (Cal Newport is the expert on this) and has to increase my CAREER CAPITAL. I am in no way interested in "training for the sake of training".

Once I feel confident that I have acted upon all the things to OPTIMIZE my objectives, it is time to Acknowledge (and Accept) the Uncontrollable. Modern "motivational/inspirational" rhetoric tends to discount the uncontrollable. However, there is in fact a portion of happenings in markets/situations that are beyond our, or anybody else's ability to influence. Refer to my previous article "Make Hay While the Sun Shines" to get a perspective on why there is little use in stewing over the uncontrollable (assuming you have prepared in advance!!).

This is where my work day ends. Sometimes it may be at noon and sometimes it may be at 8:00pm or later!! The point is, my actions, objectives and tasks were INTENTIONAL and I can now sit and watch "Tiger King" without thinking that there was "something more" I could/should have done today!!

Stay Safe & WASH YOUR HANDS!!