In order to find satisfaction in your life you must strive to experience certain challenges that provide the opportunity for accomplishments.  Your career should provide you a possibility to reach new levels of experience, intelligence and mastery of your craft.  If you merely work to reach the end of every day, you're failing to reach the fullest potential from your career and life.

Time is short, make it count

How we spend our week

168 total hours available in a week

In a week's time there are 168 hours available to use.  We must sleep, work, care for our home, family and self.  Break it down and see why we should value our time spent in every activity.  It's time to make chores more efficient, career more enjoyable and free time more plentiful!

47.6 hours sleeping

We sleep approximately 6.8 hours per night according to an article, This is How Much Sleep the Average American Gets, on www.bestoflife.com.  This results in 120.4 hours a week to consciously live our lives.  Try to cut your sleep short and besides being tired, you'll eat more, think less and shorten your lifespan.  Make every minute of sleep count and try to get 7-8 hours a night for better health.

12.8 hours on household chores

According to a Time Use Survey by the Bureau of Labor and Statistics men spend an average of 1 hour and 25 minutes a day on household activities like cooking, cleaning, laundry, mowing, etc.  Women spend an average of 2 hours and 15 minutes on the same.  If we average the time between the two, it would be approximately, 1 hour and 50 minutes spent daily on household chores. 

34.4 hours working

According to an Economic Situation Report (April 2019) produced by the US Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, American's averaged 34.4 hours at work each week.  This is the most time-consuming conscious activity we do every week other than our free time.  It should matter where we are, what we do and how we feel doing it.  If you enjoy your career, it can feel like adding an extra 34 hours to your free time.  Who wouldn't want to have a combined 100 hours (34.4/work and 65.9/free time) of time spent doing what they love!  

4.4 hours commuting

Every day American's spend nearly 1 hour commuting.  The US Census Bureau 2017 report, The Average One-Way Commuting Time by Metropolitan Areas notes the average one-way commute time is 26.1 minutes.  Who knew just driving to and from work could take 9 days a year?!

65.9 hours free time

Based on the most crucial time commitments noted above, we have about 66 hours a week.  Much of it will be time spent with family and friends. We also use free time to work-out, volunteer, read, study, take-in a game, shop, travel, etc.  This is the time you can take to relax, get more sleep, plan, play and (if you're smart) look for new ways to shorten your commute. 

How to reach 100 hours of free time

Free yourself and your career! Do what it takes to find a job that you like enough that it doesn't feel like work, rather more like free time.  This means you need to think of your job less like a "time commitment" and more like something you enjoy doing and make money at the same time.

What are three steps to fix your career?

Step 1. Identify the problem with your current job

Ask yourself questions about what makes your time spent working less enjoyable.  Your job may have many demands and responsibilities that will never compare in value to your rest and relaxation.  But it should still deliver the same satisfaction and feelings of accomplishment that provide you similar happiness as achieved in your free time.  You may have bad days, but in the right job you should be able to solve the problems that negatively contributed to your day so that you still have a positive outlook on your time spent at work.

Determine the solution

Ask yourself:

• Does my current job provide a sense of accomplishment, satisfaction and happiness?
• If I don't want to go to work every day, what are the primary detractions? (co-workers, boredom, repetitive tasks, low pay, long hours, too laborious, too sedentary, no challenge, solitude, boss, etc.)
• What do I enjoy reading, learning, providing, creating, thinking, performing, developing, helping?
• What immediate short-term and long-term career paths would stay in line with the things I enjoy?

Make changes until you see positive results

• Research careers that fit well with your current experience and area of expertise.
• Contact your HR coordinator or other local organizations (less common) and see if they have opportunities to shadow someone (observe "the day in the life" of a person in a specific job) to determine if the position of interest is what you want.
• Contact colleges and universities that can help you earn certificates or degrees specific to your long-term career goals.
• Reach out to local economic development centers and community learning centers that can provide you direction and possible education to assist you in developing your skills.
• Search your company intranet or speak with your HR Department for new job openings that would fit better with your interests.
• Volunteer and apply for internships in order to get documented experience in the types of jobs that fit your strengths.
• If you elect to go back to school, seek a new interim job that fits your interests while working toward your long-term career goals.  Make sure it has a low stress level so that you can focus on your education.

Free yourself

Once you get past the walls of your cubicle, you'll find much of what holds you back from obtaining your dream job is the fear of not having steady employment and income.  You know it takes action, planning and commitment that may not pay off right away.  However, staying trapped in a dead-end job steals nearly a quarter of every year between work and commute!  That time matters to you, so make it what you want, not just what you need! 

Don't quit your job before you develop your plan based on the goals to achieve the career satisfaction you seek.  The plan should incorporate both short- and long-term goals.  You should obtain a new job before you break out of your current jail cell!  You're your only guard, judge and jury!  If you have served enough time, you're ready to make a plan to schedule your release!

Let's go prisoner!  Your time is up!

-OurDMK.com

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