After a whirlwind of travel for nearly two weeks, designed to help me build my "inner warehouse of stillness," on my elusive quest for worklife balance - I have landed at a colleague's home in Boston. At AM this morning in a deep silent contemplative state, I thought about the last two weeks of quiet time and the "detoxification program" that I had undergone. That was until my friends radio alarm went off screeching the following missive: "A bomb went off in Islamabad, Pakistan this morning." Being my nosy self, I suggested she awake to some soft music or ocean sounds instead of the news. She just laughed. It might be jarring and in contrast to any anti-stress methods – but it gets her out of bed.
Shocked back into the reality of our times, I realized how important the last two weeks have been for my worklife constitution or profile. I had allowed myself a huge block of silent time. I chose to abstain from the longing need to answer every call, return every e-mail and read every headline. It was a purposeful, carefully planned time to turn off from the world - and cultivate resilience. I also went on a doctor supervised detoxification program to prepare my body and mind for the load of work in the pipeline.
We participate in spring cleaning, and we often kick-start diets to prepare for the summer bathing suit weather, but how many of us detoxify our worklife constitution? How often do we evaluate the conditions under which we work? Here are five steps toward detoxifying your worklife constitution:
- Choose to Detox your WorkLife Constitution:Start with dead silence, no expectations, and no attachments. During my detox it occurred to me that some of my working methods needed to change. So I went into a dead silent phase during the detox. What emerged was fascinating. It wasn't that I needed to organize more, but instead, to spend more time in silence – just listening to my inner wisdom. It's a more difficult approach than pushing our will. It's certainly not for the "Ye of little faith," nor is it for those who fear they'll miss the boat if a colleague gets to the finish line before they do. What is your gut trying to tell you that needs to be changed about your worklife experience?
- Detoxing the intersection of your working and living experience:From the moment that alarm goes off, to the moment you walk out the door or head to your home office what is the typical routine? Get out paper and pen and write down the general scenario. (ie. I wake up, brush my teeth, meditate, get the kids up, make breakfast, turn on the tv..etc) How you prepare for your day will impact your mood for the rest of the day. Be circumspect of your language and behavior prior to work. What tone are you setting out of the gate? What behaviors no longer serve your quest for better worklife integration?
- Detoxify by avoiding burnout and embracing worklife flexibility options:Whether you work from a home office or an outside workplace, there are always new strategies, tools and techniques to help you create more worklife flex. The idea of more flexibility or balance in corporate America, once derided, is now a perfectly acceptable conversational item. When evaluating your worklife constitution be sure to investigate. Don't just settle for a quick HR conversation. Often the answers will not be in a book, but instead need to be negotiated with your direct supervisor. Have some concrete reasons for the need to make changes - and some concrete suggested solutions.
- Detoxifying workplace & business relationships: Bottom-line is that it's nearly impossible to be liked by all your colleagues equally. Furthermore, as long as you act with integrity, aligned with your morals and values you should be able to ride the wave of egos that come your way – or that trigger your own insecurities. It's your reaction to those tough relationships that help you to detoxify them. One colleague once told me that she purposely keeps her toughest competitors and enemies close, to keep an eye on what they are doing, so they wouldn't get ahead of her. I personally think this is the same kind of manipulation that feeds surface and unhealthy relationships. There is a difference between healthy competition and fear-based or back-stabbing behavior. The later lacks integrity. Moral of the story – be honest. If there is room for discussion after a conflict or difficult competitive moment, try to embrace it with compassion. If not – be on your way steering clear of gossip.
- Detox your daily Information Intake:It's time to start journaling. For a few days keep track of the types of information that come your way daily. You'll find this a nearly impossible task. Your workday is replete with news, e-mails, and phone calls of every kind. Make a list of the most frequent info-intake portals and then re-evaluate the need for these items. Depending on the work you do – you might find that you only need to read the New York Times a few times a week and concentrate more on the Wall Street Journal. Perhaps daily news is not main needed info-portal? Trade journals might be more helpful to you. We've all heard about managing e-mail. Take the time to design a system or purchase a program that will help you better to organize the incoming and rid yourself of useless information.
Here are a few articles to help you along your path of detoxifying your worklife constitution and cultivating resilience:
Taking an Office Break to Meditate
24/7 Stress: It's not just a Blogger's World
Work/Life Nation: Right Livelihood with Rick Jarow
Work/Life Balance: Can we have a moment of silence?
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