Last Sunday, my husband asked me whether I would join him training our dogs. We have two German shepherds and one Rottweiler. When we go out and train our dogs, we meet with other dog trainers at a dog club about 40 miles away from our house, and so typically we spend about 4-5 hours with the dogs.
When my husband asked me the question whether I would join him and the dogs, I weighted the time spent having fun with him and the dogs with the tasks that I could get done in the next five hours. I needed to work on a presentation that was due the next week, grocery shopping, filing papers, catching up with magazines – just so much to do! But then I thought, what about next week, could I go dog training next week? Sure I could, but I could also come up with a similar list of activities that needed to get done.
Work is a never-ending story. However, spending time with your husband, your children, your dogs, and friends is quality time that is rare and often neglected. We can always find work and excuses to bail out from fun activities but never arrive at a destination where everything at work and at home is complete and we feel we have the time for fun activities.
Last Sunday, I was made aware that I just have to make the time for the things that are important to me instead of contemplating whether I have the time. At the end, work doesn’t go anywhere but when I have less time available for work to get done, I’m typically more effective instead of perfective. And I still get it done.
The next time one of your family members asks you to join them for something fun, remind yourself that work won’t go anywhere, but fun times are precious and finite. Go ahead and enjoy yourself!
Filed under: Work-Life Balance
