Stay sane at work - leverage busy-free cycles

We’re all human beings - most of us probably have high and low points in a job. Like me, I get to work in a projectized environment a lot, which means that things get really crazy as deadlines approach. Then things start to cool off, and suddenly it feels like I’m in limbo again.

I think that every job has its own work cycles, and it’s good to observe how these cycles come and go. At the same time, anyone who tells you that it’s the same all year round is bogus. Even worse advice is to take it as it comes - you can get seriously burned out.

As human beings, we’re experts at creating comfort zones for ourselves. We start to gravitate toward comfort zones when we don’t feel a real purpose in our work. This creates an artificial rift against what we say we’re doing.

One example is employees surfing Facebook during work. Given the right working environment, people wouldn’t be glued to their Facebook accounts so much. We tell ourselves that we ought to be doing something more productive, but even that is artificial when we don’t feel that what we’re doing is purposeful.

One solution is to carefully and mindfully plan out what you want to achieve from the job, say - within a year, a quarter, or whatever. Observe the busy-free cycles and take note of those who gravitate toward comfort zone areas. Make a decision how you want to carry yourself in the workplace, and avoid conforming to the status quo just because everyone is.

This makes it easier for you to perform when it matters, and relax when things cool down. It’s also a good way to show that you can perform under pressure, and are mature enough to take advantage of the breaks.

They teach these kinds of things in the project management industry, but it does make a lot of sense no matter what type of job.

We all work differently, but then there’s culture

Culture is the glue that helps people understand a lot of things about each other - in a very short period of time. We are able to make all sorts of quick observations by the way somebody talks, walks, smiles, pays the bills, etc.

That’s all fine - we all need to reduce clutter in how we deal with things. Culture is good to get everyone on the same page, and it’s fun when foreigners come so we can tell them nice stories.

The thing is - culture gets a lot more complicated in business. I think there’s a lot of battle going on about which culture fits best for work. There’s West vs. East, Top vs. Bottom, Boy vs. Girl, Rich vs. Poor, Profit vs. Purpose - all kinds of stuff.

I think the best way to deal with this is to fit in, or leave - and if you’re serving as an employer, you should watch out for these things the minute you start work at the company. The reason is because no one’s looking out for you, and the best person to know if you fit in is yourself.

There’s no point trying to change organizational behavior, UNLESS YOU’RE BEING PAID TO DO IT. The same reasons why people continue to operate under culture even though it doesn’t do good business is because it keeps things manageable. So, don’t bother changing the corporate culture. Change yourself instead, or move out.

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with leaving a company, especially if you know darn well what you’re doing. If you don’t know what you’re doing, well … that’s a different story.

In this day and age, no one will ask you why you’ve been jumping companies like breeding rabbits - because everyone knows it’s a tough world out there and companies operate so differently these days with so many factors involved.

The average job seeker has more complex demands than 10 years ago, which is why we jump companies on an average of 2.5 years.

If you’ve been doing just that, THAT’S OK. You don’t have to feel bad. You know what you want in life - you know what skills you can bring onto the table - go for it. Live your life.

My only premise is that you have a powerful story to tell. One that provides meaning and purpose to explain the kind of person you are and the kind of job that matches your very being.