Have you ever looked at an impressive piece of work from somebody with a day job – a quilt, a book, a magnificent garden, etc… – and wondered where they found the time for it? If you actually voice the question, often the response is a shrug and, “I just made it”. The fact is, you will always have time for the things you decide you want to do.
I’ve always been impressed by people working full-time who manage to still earn college degrees. I was so happy to be able to be single-minded about school (or at least, school and boys). Those who get a degree while working are really committed to an end and they work really hard.
What about people who nurture a second vocation outside of work? First of all, this is super-smart in today’s world. I was not raised with that mindset, but the younger candidates I interview today do this in spades. It’s a great hedge against careers that come and go and they’ve watched their parents become obsolete if they were too narrow. There are also valuable intersections between different worlds. My volunteer activity has definitely fed ideas to my day job for example.
But the time still has to come from somewhere. I love the term ascribed to electronic things that draw power even when not in use -- vampire power or phantom load. They literally ‘leak’ power. I think we leak time like mad crazy. I’m not saying every minute has to be productively spent; we all need downtime and I believe meditation is productive too. But if you always wanted to learn Italian and you don’t have time for a class, how about filling that commute time where you currently listen to traffic, weather or Imus with Italian lesson ‘tapes’ instead? Do you idly scan Facebook while sitting at the DMV or do you listen to a motivational, start-your-business podcast? These are exactly the kind of choices that determined people make. I’m watching a friend slowly gear up for her corporate off-ramp. Slow means I’ve been hearing an idea take form for two years; she’s been harboring it for longer. But as she starts to get more serious, this person who works full-time, is going through a divorce and is raising two teenagers with all the challenges that has, is miraculously finding time to create foundations for her own business. So yes, we’re all busy, but if you want to accomplish something, don’t complain about time…just find it. Or should I say, make it. Make the hard choice and eliminate the vampires.
I’ve always been impressed by people working full-time who manage to still earn college degrees. I was so happy to be able to be single-minded about school (or at least, school and boys). Those who get a degree while working are really committed to an end and they work really hard.
What about people who nurture a second vocation outside of work? First of all, this is super-smart in today’s world. I was not raised with that mindset, but the younger candidates I interview today do this in spades. It’s a great hedge against careers that come and go and they’ve watched their parents become obsolete if they were too narrow. There are also valuable intersections between different worlds. My volunteer activity has definitely fed ideas to my day job for example.
But the time still has to come from somewhere. I love the term ascribed to electronic things that draw power even when not in use -- vampire power or phantom load. They literally ‘leak’ power. I think we leak time like mad crazy. I’m not saying every minute has to be productively spent; we all need downtime and I believe meditation is productive too. But if you always wanted to learn Italian and you don’t have time for a class, how about filling that commute time where you currently listen to traffic, weather or Imus with Italian lesson ‘tapes’ instead? Do you idly scan Facebook while sitting at the DMV or do you listen to a motivational, start-your-business podcast? These are exactly the kind of choices that determined people make. I’m watching a friend slowly gear up for her corporate off-ramp. Slow means I’ve been hearing an idea take form for two years; she’s been harboring it for longer. But as she starts to get more serious, this person who works full-time, is going through a divorce and is raising two teenagers with all the challenges that has, is miraculously finding time to create foundations for her own business. So yes, we’re all busy, but if you want to accomplish something, don’t complain about time…just find it. Or should I say, make it. Make the hard choice and eliminate the vampires.