A Doing Word…

Quick Version: Types of Work

I find there is a spectrum of work ranging from in the moment to far future tripping.

In-the-moment work items are things that bring little bits of joy with every action, and generally make little bits of demonstrable progress. Let’s call this “Zen” work.

• Programming
• Sweeping the floor
• Pulling weeds
• Pruning
• Painting
• Mowing the lawn
• Scooping leaves from the pool surface
• Pressure washing
• A personal interaction like mentoring or listening to a friend
• Cooking a quality meal

In contrast, future-trip work has benefits that are deferred. I do them not because they bring joy today, but because I need to do them to avoid a problem or bring joy in the future. Lets call this “Future” work”.

• Preparing the three-year budget forecast
• Evaluating cloud platform options both technically and financially to make the right product decision
• Fixing things on the house because they will be marked on the inspection when I sell it
• Getting and evaluating bids to replace the roof on the house
• Taking the car in for an oil change
• Booking flights for a trip
• Preparing a detailed and complete shopping list for a meal

It’s possible to make Zen work less Zen with bad attitude, time pressure, quality pressure, unpleasant environment, etc. And it’s possible to make Future work more Zen by getting into it with a good attitude, enjoying the process, creating a thoughtful and productive environment, etc.

In general though for me, Zen work more naturally nurtures a zen mindset, and Future work lends itself to a more corporate, analytical, result-oriented, and even stressed mindset.

So What to Do About That?

Approach #1: Eschew Future work and try to do more Zen work. I know people that are good at this and admire, sometimes envy, their happiness. I know that I want to be more like this.

The limitation of this approach is that in some cases it optimizes today’s Zen over future and longer-term Zen. An example would be to put off oil changes, tax payments, or home maintenance to improve today but at the cost to the future.

Approach #2: Figure out how to be more in the moment with the Future work. I’ve spent most of my time in life on future work and have a list of techniques to apply to make it more Zen.

For me there is definitely a limit to this approach. In many ways my job as a tech exec was to operationalize the Zen work, delegate it to the team, and then take on the longer-term and more intractable problems. If I did reach a Zen state with some work then my optimal productive action was to delegate it to someone else.

Approach #3: Split your time with work-life balance. Pick up a guitar on lunch and play for 30 min. Take walks during the day, go to the gym after work to “transition, or have a couple of drinks after work. These can help but I think of balance more as sacrifice, conflict, and tension. If you imagine an old-time balance, the process is to load each side until the tension is equal. I prefer a synergistic whole.

My Approach

I think most people use a combination of all of these approaches. It’s interesting to be aware of each and which I’m using. Personally I am choosing to decrease Future work, increase Zen work, and reach consistent life model that is less divided between work and life.

In addition, I am working on a couple of techniques that have become more clearly defined as I proceed.

Technique #1: Accept and manage frogs. “Eat the Frog” is a great book and it helps me bring a better mindset to doing things I don’t like. Eat a couple of frogs with vigor and celebrate your accomplishment when they are done. Don’t spend time worrying or thinking about frogs until you’re hungry to eat one, and change your life it it’s all you have to eat all day.

Technique #2: Change your internal and external narrative about work. Avoid “I need to” statements and replace them with “I’m going to”. “I need to make dinner” -> “I’m going to make something great for our dinner”. For big things, create intermediate success milestones and when you achieve them, give yourself credit and celebrate them before moving on.

I enjoy doing my taxes each year with TurboTax. It’s an interesting observation because it appears to me as a big buffet of frogs. Partly it’s a narrative I tell myself before jumping into any necessary yet icky job. I think another key aspect is that I have a stack of papers to enter, a list of things to cover, and a set of steps in TurboTax, all of which are clearly defined. When I complete one I move the form to the growing completed stack, click complete on TurboTax, and enjoy the success.

Jumping into icy cold water is a nice way to play with this narrative. I have two I tell myself: “It’s my thing”, and “I have always felt better after I do”. It works!

Past Thoughts

Happiness remains an interesting and sometimes elusive thing for me and there is evidence that the same is true for others.

I wrote this a while ago. It’s based on my experiences with things like jumping into cold water. I find it very interesting because:

1. I never really “feel” like I want to jump into icy water
2. I have never, ever, *regretted* jumping in. I did come close to a regret that one time when I was snow camping. I threw rocks into the frozen lake to make a hole and jumped off a rock into the water. I had to use a t-shirt as a towel and it took some time to warm up in the tent on the snow. But now it makes a great story so I’m very happy with the outcome.

Doing what DOES make you happy, not what you think makes you happy.