How many hours do you spend at work...mentally?

Posted on April 02, 2023 by Cat Laiacone, One of Thousands of Career Coaches on Noomii.

Think about a recent day at work that maybe didn’t go so well:

Did you have a meeting conflict?
Did you have a stressful day?
Are you preparing for a presentation that need to give to leadership or collogues?
How did you feel at the end of those type of days? Perhaps tired, a little frustrated, having some anxiety? Think about the time that you spent thinking or worrying about the what ifs when you weren’t even at work or “on the clock”.

Now, think about a day at work that you really enjoyed:

Did you have a day that things went smoothly, and you got a lot accomplished?
Did someone compliment about your work?
Were able to connect with a coworker and have a cup of coffee?
How did you feel at the end of that type of day? Perhaps uplifted, energized, encouraged.

What we do for full time work is important whether you are working 7 1/2 hours a day or 12-hour in healthcare of a leadership role.

This thing we call “work” certainly provides us financial compensation and resources to live, however, in return, for that compensation we spend a lot of our time, energy, resources and mental space.

Now, what we do for who we are and its important to keep our identity separate. What work does offer and perhaps even demand is that we are placed an environment taking on assignments and tasks as instructed.

Honestly, I have never had a position where I loved every single aspect of my position. Even as a Life Coach, there are some administrative tasks that aren’t my favorite, and that’s okay, because the rewards of the other key areas surpass in goodness what little inconvenience the other offers in comparison. There can always be somethings you don’t like about the assignments and that is total normal.

The key is that the other part of the role provides you with a sense of value, purpose and fulfillment and where our gifts and talents can shine through.

Have you ever noticed when you’re in a meeting that’s about an hour and the topic doesn’t interest you hour seems to last about five or more?

Now think about how you would feel after participating in a meeting for one hour that you were excited about, exchanged ideas, conversations of collaboration and creative ideas.

Both meetings were exactly the same time length however you can feel quite differently after each one.

The first meeting may leave you feeling bored, frustrated, tired, not motivated to start on that new projects that were just discussed. While the second meeting can leave you feeling energized, excited, and engaged.

With all the time that we spent at work it really, while our “who” is not our “do” it does matter what we do. If we enjoy our jobs, then we also have a better sense of joy happiness confidence higher self-esteem and the organic ability to take on new risk and adventures because of the enhanced positive emotions and feelings that we have.

A career is something that should inspire you, help you grow and fulfill your needs of expressing and sharing your talents. The work we do can be something that compliments the values, integrity and goals you are inspired to have!