I came across this article hanging on the bulletin board in my office cafekitchenluncharea: Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg Leaves at 5:30. Should You?
I have always been a proponent of going to work and leaving at the end of the assigned work day. Granted there have been past jobs where I stayed late or worked through lunch. I did what I had to do to be a team player. However, I had a huge aha moment right before I transitioned to my current position. If I continued working like that and not setting boundaries, I was going to get sick and get burnt…again. It also didn’t allow me to have separation from work because I never ever fully decompressed when I left work. I think I spent a decade working and doing theater which totalled about 70 hours a week. It was nuts. Lots to be grateful for because I was able to learn and achieve some goals but exhausting.
When I started working at my current firm a little over a year ago, I vowed not to put myself in that position again. I vowed to take my lunch hour, find a way to be most efficient with my time, and know that when I left at 5:30, the work day was done. Fast forward to now, I am so glad that I made those decisions. I have come to realize that I have two careers and the two balance each other out: I need one to keep me from living in a cardboard box and to give me structure; I need the other to allow me to be creative and a free spirit.
A few blogs ago, I wrote about time and I now have realization about why we shouldn’t just focus on one thing at all times… we are unable to be grateful for what we have because we are stuck in the same place. I can honestly say that I have found the most gratitude in my life once I made these subtle adjustments.
Does that mean I don’t care about my job? Not at all. It just doesn’t define me.
And scene.
Malini Singh mcdonald 