Life Kerning: Creative Ways to Fine Tune Your Perspective on Career and Life
From the Author: Life Kerning StrategiesLife Kerning 04: Be Anti-SocialOnline and mobile engagement is both beneficial and enjoyable, but we all need to habitually unplug. The more you engage, the more prone you become to constantly checking your accounts for communications you need to respond to. Soon time has gone by—in many cases, time that was just frittered.Make a concerted effort to unplug and do something else. What’s interesting is that, when you do plug back in, you realize that maybe you are a little late to some of the conversations but that nothing happened is preventing you from still participating. The more time you take to return to the physical world around you and engage there, the richer your days actually become.Start Your Anti-Social Campaign1. What times of the day are you most productive and tuned in? Choose those times to focus on the items you want to accomplish, whether it’s at work or after hours. Unplug before you start.2. Read something—not on a phone or tablet. Play a board game or a card game. Draw. Paint. Do something that does not entail an electronic device. Dust off the Etch A Sketch?3. Work out and don’t check Facebook, talk on the phone, or tweet. Seriously.4. If your phone or tablet is just too tempting, give it to a coworker or family member for a period of time.5. You can set aside regular, fixed times to have a no-device zone. This could be at morning meetings, at the dinner table, wherever. You might actually have some meaningful conversation!Life Kerning 011: Do What You LoveDo you love what you do?When you ponder that question, try to approach it from different perspectives:1. Does your job excite and/or challenge you? If not, does your current profession inspire you, and could you find another job within that profession?2. Is your satisfaction with your job tied to your attitude? (You know you can change your attitude, right?)3. Does your job allow you to do the things that really matter to you (e.g., taking off early to spend time with family, enjoying your favorite hobby, writing your novel)?4. Does the type of work you do help to make the world a better place? Do you resonate with your company’s mission? Can you visualize a satisfying future in your current profession?5. It’s never too late to make some adjustments somewhere to bring the elements of your life into a more positive balance.Finding the LoveHere are some more questions that may help you find the love again:1. What would you do if you didn’t have to work?2. How different is it than what you are doing now?3. Remember where you started in your career. Go back to your first day. What has changed? Have you grown?