Today's rat race has turned into a hyper-connected web of technology -- being connected to email and social media seven days a week and all hours of the day and night. Working from home leads to more flexibility but you end up working more hours per day, not less.
From Arianna Huffington's new book Thrive: The Third Metric to Redefining Success and Creating a Life of Well-Being, Wisdom, and Wonder, our goals for success are currently money and power. The internal struggles we've created for earning more and more money and climbing the ladder for success have driven us into a frenzy of activity that includes email at night during family time and on the weekend. In the past, when you left your office, you left the connection to co-workers and your job responsibilities to relax and decompress.
Our goal should be focused on our well-being, creating wisdom, and finding wonder to truly thrive and not stay on the treadmill of busy.
To increase well-being, we can get more sleep every night. Start small with an extra thirty minutes per day and build to an hour more per day. This will help improve concentration, boost creativity, and lower stress levels. Being well rested helps us make better decisions.
Listen to the wisdom from within. When your internal voice tells you that you are over-committed even before you check your schedule, give yourself permission to say no. You don't always have to say yes to each request.
Find wonder in your life by planning new activities. Take a daycation! This is a mini-one day journey that doesn't need to be far from home or expensive. Visit a local park and bring a picnic lunch, relax in the sun and read a book. Stop at the antique shop that you pass on the road and always wanted to visit. Give yourself the gift of time to poke through and look at the interesting artifacts from years past.
Plan times of digital detox. Turn off the phone at a certain time each night and have a day or two when you are offline.
I urge you to take inventory of your current habits and find small changes that you can make in your schedule to go from pushing yourself too hard to finding a new way to thrive using Arianna's foundation in Thrive.
Ways that I've done a good job with thriving:
No notifications for social media accounts. The constant pinging breaks concentration.
I turn off phone notifications from 9 p.m. through 7 a.m. Unless it's from my core crew, calls and notifications will wait until morning.
I get at least seven hours of sleep and take the occasional weekend nap.
Ways I need to improve so I can thrive:
Not be at my desk for such long hours.
Not work seven days a week.
More quality time with family.
Go to yoga class!
How can you redefine your success? Take inventory and start making small changes to improve your overall health, reduce stress, and enjoy life more!
How to thrive and create joy at work
Is it about flexible working, table tennis in the office, sleep pods, or being transparent about salaries? How should businesses and entrepreneurs ensure the wellbeing and happiness of the people they work with?
How do you thrive and create joy at work? We'll be exploring this fascinating topic in a Google Hangout moderated by Guy Kawasaki with legendary entrepreneur Arianna Huffington and workplace pioneer Richard Sheridan and we've love to hear what you think. Instagram or tweet your ideas using the hashtag #workthrivejoy.