I just love this quote by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, “Happiness is not in the mere possession of money; it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort.” How true is that? I mean yes money is quite enjoyable & rather a nice perk about working but the process is most certainly just that: the thrill. Getting down to the nitty gritty. Rolling up your work sleeves & getting it done. There is nothing like that feeling of achievement, when you know that you have created or completed a project.
For some of us that might actually be making a circuit board like my Husband. For others it might be setting up your Cricut machine & going to town making decals for your baseball team. So what is work ethic & how can we maintain it while we are at work?
The actual definition of work ethic is the principle that hard work is intrinsically virtuous or worthy of reward. Reward can be used loosely because that term can mean a variety of things. Accolades whether verbal or tangible & with in those terms the sky is the limit.
I remember getting to work when I first starting recruiting at 7AM & working until 5PM. This might sound like a long day to some but for me it just did not feel like I could really get my job orders complete with those hours. I started asking my Boss if I could come in a bit earlier & before I know it I was reporting to work at 5AM & leaving at 5PM. No one asked me to, no body gave me an ultimatum either. I did it because deep down I knew that if I worked hard it would pay off. I continued to work those long hours & some weekends like that for almost a year before I was promoted. My promotion was creating & developing a new Department for the company in market research. Now at the time I had absolutely no clue what I was doing but I had already established solid work ethic & clearly someone had faith in me, so why couldn’t I possibly achieve this? Once again, I put my nose down & went to work. I was able to create a fantastic program for the company & one I was truly proud of.
So why do some people go to work & watch youtube or text all day? I did not understand it then & I most certainly do not understand it now. I do get that there are distractions out there with intense social media that dings your mobile each time something is updated. Its hard to work if you do not have focus, determination & resilience. I would go to work & I remember being ridiculed & mocked for literally having no “friends”. Also, not eating with coworkers because I was shut up in my office cramming my home-made lunch in my mouth so I could make sure I was caught up before I checked out that afternoon. I do know having friends in the work place make it easier to go each day but I just wasn’t there to make friends. I was there to succeed, learn & get my work completed. Judgement ensued & although I never mentioned it while there it did bother me. But, that my friends is a whole other topic to be talked about later on.
Things to make work ethic stay on point!
- Get to work earlier than anticipated. This can mean a mere 10 minutes earlier, it will set your whole work day off with ease & a feeling of accomplishment in that of itself. This means getting things prepped the night before: breakfast-check! lunch-check! clothes-check! laptop/ipad/phone-check! I do this with my children the night prior & it is a game changer & makes me be able to wake up and ease into my day with out having to feel rushed or anxious.
- Once at work try to stay organized, if you have a check list for the day that will help you stay on track. Small goals go along way & you can make a dent in those bigger ones later because of it. Make time for a brake in between when you first get there & lunch. This might mean get up & stretch or go for a small walk around the office. This might mean that daily chat with Rhonda in Billing. Who knows-tailor it to your needs.
- Your lunch-the food we give our bodies will determine how our minds react to the day. Feed your brain good food to keep you motivated & focused. Coffee can often times give you a jump start but then it can make you feel tired & exhausted after you come down from the initial high. Try grapefruit juice for a metabolism boost or if you are trying to cut out sugar try drinking ice water with lemon. Carbs can bog you down too, so fresh greens & fruit or protein can give you a bit of a lift as well.
- Now its time to get back to work, did you finish the morning check list? If not scan over it now & get back to tackling it. If its completed then start working on the afternoon tasks before its time to head out.
- Time for that small break again! Maybe this time you read a motivation passage or just meditate for a moment. Recenter yourself & your mind/body.
- Time to clock out! Make sure you go that you get things prepped for tomorrow, that includes that list of morning To Do’s!
What is your work ethic? How do you function in a world that is suffocated by social media’s giants: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Youtube etc.? Do you feel as if it puts a damper on your ability to work? Or, are you one of those people that doesn’t need a micro manager breathing down your neck & can get it done?
