Work is a four letter word. So is love. And hate. For most of my life I hated work. Now I enjoy working. In high school I forced myself to “study”- that is, I spent hours staring at a worksheet, unable to focus. It got “better” in college. And by “better” I meant I procrastinated instead of doing work. Hanging with friends in their dorms until 2 in the morning (on a weekday!) was WAY more fun than getting my dorm-work completed. And of course, the night wouldn’t be complete without a trip to Convenient Deli and Oscar’s. That was my sophomore year weekday cycle: go to class, eat, hang out, hang out some more, go to Oscar’s for the oxtail, fried plantain special, and sleep. My weight increased while my GPA declined. To top it off, procrastinating also kept me from enjoying my time with my friends; I knew I should be completing my work and studying for the upcoming Legal Environment test, but I just simply couldn’t bring myself to leave my friends’ dorms (especially when Trey Songz was blasting from the speakers).

Studying with my friends helped (a little). A couple of my friends were business majors. We would crowd around the Student Lounge, and work on our Stats homework together. My friends paid attention in class, so they understood the difference between “skewed right” and “skewed left” immediately. They were so far ahead of me that I became discouraged. But it was nice to be able to sit down and actually get work done. I felt accomplished when I folded my Stats dorm-work (our Stats professor had us fold our dorm-work a certain way) after the end of a Friend Study Night. Some people get more done when they’re working in groups. One way to make work fun is to get together with a group of friendly colleagues and brainstorm. But it only works if you prefer group work to individual work. I’m in the process of figuring out what I enjoy more: group work or individual work. 

      

You’ve probably heard of “flow”- the optimal state for work. Flow can be described as a feeling of energized focus and enjoyment in the process of the activity, a.k.a being “in the zone”. We’ve all experienced it before. You finish the project that was supposed to take all week in 3 days. While you’re working you’re not stressed out or irritated or staring at the clock. You’re deeply focused, and when you look outside the window you’re surprised the sun has already set.

For most of college I didn’t experience flow. When I worked, I labored. Whenever I studied, I felt like I was climbing Mount Everest carrying a bag of bricks, or drinking crushed aspirins. And when I procrastinated, it felt worse. I was very unmotivated at the beginning of college, but there was one time I remembered being in flow during that “unmotivated” period.

One day, as a sophomore, I decided to hit the gym. It was my first time in the gym; as a freshman I lived on Chinese takeout. I looked around the foreign room, and found an elliptical. I got on the elliptical and began moving. My breath started getting shorter, and shorter, and shorter. Fifty minutes later I finished. My cheeks were flushed, but I felt wonderful! Then another foreign idea popped into my head: I was going to study for my Legal Environment test! Usually when a thought like that popped into my head, I push it away. But this time I scooted to Capen Hall, sat on my desk, opened my brown textbook, and studied. Usually when I studied, the first word that came to my mind was a four letter one (beginning with f or s). This time, for some reason, I was able to instantly concentrate. That sinking feeling didn’t happen. After a while, I realized I was enjoying studying. That was a brand new feeling for me. After a few hours, I put aside my textbook and went to bed (without heading to Oscar’s for mozzarella sticks and Gatorade).

The next day, after class, I went to the gym again. Fifty minutes later, I went to my dorm and happily studied. The next day I repeated the pattern. The following day was the same. This lasted for 4 whole days. On day number 5 I got invited to a party, and sunk back to my old patterns… But I did ace my first Legal Environment test! Had I kept up my work “flow” I would have aced all my Legal Environment tests, but I didn’t. I went back to over-procrastinating. Safe to say, I didn’t get an A in my Legal Environment class; after finals I was glad I even passed!

To get into flow, make sure you can concentrate first. Some people can work in noisy conditions (such as a bustling Starbucks), and others require complete silence. I tend to work best when there’s no distractions; I can’t work effectively while listening to music. And yet there are people who work best with headphones on. It really depends on the individual.

Now it’s time to “make it easy”. Put negative thoughts on hold, or, better yet, eliminate them. But what if your project is due in 3 days, and you haven’t even started?! And you have your sister’s wedding to go to that you have to prepare a speech for. On top of that, you have to make food, and clean the bathroom. And the CEO is going to watch you present the project that’s due in 3 days (that you haven’t even started). Is it possible to enjoy work at such a “stressful” time?

To enjoy work, chunk it down. Break down the huge project into “small bites”. Don’t think: I have to research and write a ten page proposal in 3 days! Think: I’m going to research for 20 minutes. Just 20 minutes. Then begin. After 20 minutes, you realize you’re not tired. And if you’re tired, you walk around and stretch. Then you keep going. I’m going to research for another 20 minutes. Just 20 minutes. After a break, you think: I’m going to write a paragraph of my proposal. Just a paragraph. Chunking it down helps us get into flow. We can all handle writing one paragraph. They say the “hardest” part of working is “starting”. Once you finish that first paragraph you want to keep going, and going, and going. Negative thoughts may hinder your progress in some way whether it’s in the form of anxiety, irritation, or procrastination. That’s why it’s important to develop a positive mind frame, and have a “can do” attitude. Positive affirmations help eliminate negative thought patterns. You may not believe those affirmations initially, but if you keep repeating, your brain will be programmed to believe. It worked for me, and the people in Jack Canfield’s book “The Success Principles”.

Chunking it down relieves stress, but it probably won’t work if you procrastinate until the last minute, and you have a 10 page proposal due in 12 hours! That’s why it’s beneficial to start work early. If you have a project due in a week, start researching the first day. Don’t do what I did in college and wait until the last minute! Take breaks while you work; you can afford to take breaks when you start early. When I’m preparing for a speech I start as soon as possible so I can enjoy preparing it. I take breaks when I’m tired. Taking breaks relaxes us, and helps us become even more productive when we start working. In college I crammed for exams. I was beyond exhausted after a night of cramming, and I usually performed average to poor on exams I crammed for. Had I studied consistently and early, I would have taken regular breaks and felt relaxed, enabling me to perform well on my exams. And being productive is a MUCH better feeling than a 9 hour Netflix binge (I know this from personal experience). It’s a win-win situation.      

A book I recommend is “The Success Principles” by Jack Canfield (author of the Chicken Soup series). He was the one who introduced me to “chunking it down”. He’s also a profound believer in visualization and Law of Attraction. His book is chock-full of stories of real people who achieved their dreams by visualizing.

And finally, go to a baseball game after work. We all need time to recharge. Allow yourself time to sit in front of Netflix and ENJOY :) I love taking naps, and I’m proud of it.

My life has been very interesting. As I was writing my book, I realized I had to laugh to get through the painful bits. And I’m ever so grateful I did. 

Kindle Book Link

Paperback Book Link