6 Important Questions For Every Hard Worker - The Muse

6 Important Questions For Every Hard Worker - The Muse6 Important Questions For Every Hard WorkerThis is what the professional culture in the US looks like today50% of Americans are clocked in for over 40 hours each week.Half of Americans feel that stress negatively impacts their personal and professional lives.A typical American takes only half his or her paid vacation in a year.Now, Ill be the first to admit that I pride myself in my work ethic. I pack my to-do list liberally and optimistically yes is my automatic response to more responsibility in the office and, if Im being honest, bedrngnishing makes me feel more productive than getting ahead on tasks when Im off the clock. If this all sounds familiar to you, then those stats might not be so surprising after all. If you consider yourself a hard working professional, theres a good chance youre under a lot of stress because of your career. I spoke on the phone with Michael Dr. Woody Woodard, PhD, a workplace psychologist and caree r expert, to get his advice on how to best manage motivation and productivity habits.Were one of the hardest working countries in the world, he tells me, and were also one of the fruchtwein work-obsessed.When youre in the zone during your 9-to-5 role each day, and getting tasks done genuinely makes you feel good, its easy to fall into a rhythm. But why are you really doing all this? Here are six questions to ask yourself in order to actively challenge and understand your habits. After all, if you could be doing less work (and spending more time relaxing), you should be.1. Are You Defining Productivity the Right Way?Consider how you measure success and accomplishment in the day-to-day of your job, but also in the big picture. Dr. Woody makes one careful distinction Dont confuse activity with productivity. Do you feel fulfilled if you have a long list of tasks checked-off by the end of the day, or are you most satisfied knowing you put hours and hours of your time into a big project? He says, People fall into the trap of If Im in motion, Im being productive. Work activities arent necessary all productive A lot of the things we do, whether its on the job or off hours, probably add little bearing on actually producing quality work. Checking emails, reading spam, searching stuff, getting distracted- all of those are activities, not necessarily productive activities.When it comes to thinking about what efficiency means to you, try to understand that your understanding of it might be different from your boss, or Lisa in HR. Figuring out how to negotiate and reconcile those differences can help you hone in on the type of expectations that will be meaningful in your position.2. Are You Working Hard or Working Smart?Youve heard quality over quantity time and time again because it makes sense. Put yourself in your managers shoes for a moment Would you rather have your employee take on less but more focused hours, or longer hours that dont really have to do with producing better outcomes? You didnt get that promotion because you poured in weeks of effort- you got it for producing the results expected of you. Its not always about how many hours you spend on a project, but how well you do it. Otherwise, according to Dr. Woody, youre going to put yourself past burning out.3. Are You Spending Your Time the Way You Want?If youre not, then youre just going through life making the motions, and thats fine- youll survive, youll be content, but you wont feel fulfilled. Dr. Woody says to reevaluate your average week, and actively compare that to the lifestyle you hope to lead, Look at yourself and go These things, Im spending a lot of time doing, and they have basically minimal impact on my job, my career, my boss doesnt care about them. But Im engaged in them Why? Staying punched in late after the workday ends- even if mentally- can be tricky because it takes away from so many other things you enjoy, like traveling, fitness, or art. It can also be easy becaus e its predictable, and you get used to it. If its gone well for you in the past, and produced good results as it likely has up until now, why would you try to change that? People do it because they feel comfortable with it or they come easy to them, not because they are productive things, Dr. Woody continues. Contentment can be the enemy of success. Dont platzset hard rules for yourself about how you spend your free moments use trial-and-error to figure out what fits best into your lifestyle and your goals.4. Are You Unplugging From Work in an Intentional Way?When it comes to important emails or meeting prep, do you feel like even when youre clocked out, youre still kind of clocked in? To me, it seemed like the best way to be conscientious about unwinding is to unplug from your responsibilities entirely. After all, doing that would ensure that you find some other way to occupy yourself. Dr. Woody explained why thats actually not an ideal fix Sometimes you feel most creative and free during those times where you dont feel obligated to work. So its not about not working during times when you get the most creativity Dont shut the door on that.There are good and bad time to be stuck in focus mode, and it requires practice and patience to figure out what sort of schedule will work best for you. Instead of making rules, set boundaries for yourself, based on your hobbies, your family, your spouse, your family, your pets, or other factors that make up your life.For him, it all starts with a conversation with those people who are most important to you Understand what works for them, too. Ask If I take on X hours instead of Y, what works? Otherwise you become a slave to your device.5. Are You Addicted to Your Idea of Productivity?But- and I pushed back on this in our conversation- being productive just makes me feel good. I genuinely feel satisfied and accomplished, dare I even say good, when I finish an article way ahead of the deadline, or find free moments to do a li ttle extra around the office. Dr. Woody says that this enjoyment isnt exactly black and white Being a workaholic is different than checking things off a list. Get back down to asking yourself why youre doing it If you find yourself a friend who starts to speak and act like a work martyr, you know you have problems.Try to recognize what it is about over-extending yourself with tasks that makes you feel so good. Do you like helping your colleagues out around the office? Are you so committed to your companys mission that you do as much as you can for it? Or, could there be some other reason?Someone who immerses themselves so completely could be trying to distract themes from other realities going on around them, says Dr. Woody. They could be really ambitious and trying to climb ahead, but that not be the best route. If you cant stop in the mirror and ask yourself the why of what youre doing, then what are you doing?6. Are You Working Too Much?So, I wanted to know What does working too much look like, and how do you know if youre going overboard? According to him, Working too much is a relative term. Some people love what they do and some people strike up a healthy blend.Burnout is scary for most people, but its not always easy to recognize the signs. Sometimes the best way to figure out how your jobs impacting your life is to slow down and listen to how those other pieces of yourself are doing- and figure out how all of those pieces can coexist.I dont believe in work-life balance, I believe in work-life blend Blend your work with your personal life and passions, says Dr. Woody. If you find ways to mix them together in a healthy way, I think you can do well. If youre going to a trip and all youre thinking is the work side of it, of course youre going to burn out.If you answered yes to all these questions, heres what you could be putting at stake quality time with people you love, your personal health and happiness, and all the other adventures that come with livin g life outside the office. Theres nothing wrong with being a motivated employee, but dont let that be all you are.Make sure your passion isnt causing damage to those around you, Dr. Woody warns. If you cant step back and evaluate, look at how you work, take that thinking time, then youre on the treadmill. Youre running at someone elses pace and then its difficult to have success.Im not saying you should quit your job tomorrow, but find ways to keep moving forward on your own terms. In our already over-worked society, you have to be competitive- but not in a way that will backfire on you. Turning into a stressed, unhappy, or burnt out worker doesnt help anyone, especially not your boss.So, are you working against or for yourself?