Nine to Five, Norma Rae, Erin Brokovich, Working Girl, Baby Boom, Legally Blonde, Devil Wears Prada...each movie depicts women in the work force...different types of women. I think I fall somewhere between Sally Field and Diane Keaton.
I grapple with the balance of family, friends, work and pro bono. There's nothing more important to me than spending time with my family and friends, but unless I block out time, it's easily eaten away with other commitments. I have a friend who calls me a lunch whore, of course always said with love but, knowing that it's difficult to schedule lunch with me. I look at my calendar sometimes and imagine elves have hacked my Google account and added meetings, lunches and dinners.
The working world hasn't been 9 to 5 since the movie of the same name was released. The plus of our 24/7 world is not having to stay in your office the typical 8 hours, since you're able to spread out the work day to after dinner, or late at night, or those times reserved for insomnia, or the weekend. It has though increased the load and the expectation. And, the 24/7 world was not created with procrastinators in mind. They are truly at a disadvantage being able to push off work until...later.
I love being able to take a break from work, have dinner, talk to Zach, and then return to a project or problem. The time away clears my mind to think about it differently and possibly find a different way to resolve the issue. I've read the reports that we do not really multi-task well, but I like having the opportunity to spend time on a work project, switch to a volunteer challenge, and back to a work report. In addition to keeping my interest, I believe each project enhances the other.
The challenge is making my time count and working on projects I feel are meaningful. I like making a difference and being challenged. So, I've just spent a couple of hours with Norma Rae and I'm ready for a little J.C. Wiatt.
It is true that it now falls to us as individuals to establish the boundaries between the ways we use our energy. Calling it "work" is an interesting way of identifying what we might do for compensation or for the benefit of those other than ourselves. Making dinner, sitting with Zach, that is for your own benefit -- untangling a snarl pro bono is felt differently than what is expected for tomorrow morning's meeting at the job.
ReplyDeleteThis is definitely an interesting path to looking at your choices, evaluating the balance of rest, work, nurturing, and growth. I love the way you walk right into this, pulling together all the parts from Dolly Parton to Diane Keaton ... with a whole lot of Casper in there too!