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Pacing Your Work Day: Are You Stopping to Smell the Roses?

Most men pursue pleasure with such breathless haste that they hurry past it.

Soren Kierkegaard

As people try to get through the day, it’s sometimes quite easy to get so focused on the tasks that have to be done that we’re not taking the time to enjoy our life. There is definitely a fine line between working hard and hurrying.

The Art of Pace

As a distance runner, it’s incredibly important to know how to handle pace. Knowing how to pace yourself in a race is crucial, as it’s not only a form of strategy, it also ensures that you’re able to finish the race. It doesn’t take a genius to know that if you start a marathon with your 3 fastest miles ever, the odds of you finishing the other 22 are slim to none. The same is true with working. If you work the first three hours non-stop, blinking at your computer screen without taking any breaks, the last 5 hours are probably going to be crap.

Chunking the Day

Instead, try breaking apart the work day in sections. Block out chunks of time for work, and chunks of time for play. And be sure to treat the play times with just as much importance as the work times. Because they are. They allow you to work strong throughout the day, and keep you from turning into your head into a giant pile of mush after a month’s worth of work.

Remember, life isn’t just work. We have families and friends, and other parts of life that are more important. Work just allows us to exist. Nobody ever got to the end of their life and wished that they’d been able to put more hours in at the office.

Sometimes we just need to hear that 😉