Categories: time management, goal setting

“When you play, play hard; when you work, don’t play at all.”
Theodore Roosevelt

This is not a new thought… the idea of focusing on work while working and play while playing. The reason that some form of this quote is so popular is because IT IS TRUE. In spite of its veracity, how many of us really free ourselves from thoughts of work, while we are playing? Try it and see what happens to your productivity! 

Main Topic

On a recent snow day, my wonderful husband, who works in a medical setting got the day off, for the first time EVER! Now, we get along great, have lots of fun together and really have a good thing going. My husband is also very accomplished with 6 books, tons of research publications, paid consulting, and presentations. And this is all on top of his regular job. So, when he got the day off, I knew that we would both be doing some work and not slacking off all day.

But here’s the rub….I have my schedule all set up, and I am kind of rigid. In other words, I like to do what I want to do, when I want to do it. But those of you out there who are married know that if you want your relationship to endure, you have to compromise.

At the risk of making you sick, let me say something else wonderful about my husband. As incredibly prolific as he is, he NEVER works after dinner or on week-end afternoons. He loves leisure and to have fun. In order to get lots of fun and pleasure in his life, he rips through his work quicker and more efficiently than anyone I have ever seen. He is not a perfectionist at all.

So here is how the day played out. We got up early, like we do every day. After breakfast, I was ready to get down to work, because I am a bit obsessive, but I chose to have fun and hang out with my husband instead. We watched some TV; played some scrabble; played some wii tennis; looked out the window at the snow a lot; and took a rest! By about 10am, I said I was going to do some work! He joined me and we went up to the office and we worked for a couple of hours.

After lunch, he wanted to take a nap. Now, my obsessive voice was prodding me to work more and to get more accomplished. But because I love my husband, I decided to take a nap too. After the nap, we did Tae Bo for half an hour and did about an hour more work. Then had dinner and watched more television!

Practical Application

As I reviewed the day, I calculated that I put in about 40% less time at my desk working. Yet, because I knew my husband would want to relax a bit on his free snow day, while we were working, I was incredibly focused. After the nap, that hour of work I did was really productive; I was well rested, alert and got a lot done! In fact……

Yesterday I got more work done in less time &

added lots more fun and relaxation!

My husband is an expert at doing only the essential! He does not waste time on minutia! By following his lead, I had an incredibly fun and productive day.

The rejuvenating power of rest, relaxation, and fun is remarkable.

I don’t get how it works, but working less can yield greater productivity, just ask Tim Ferris  the author of the 4 hour work week.

Action Step

Get a notebook and label it: “(your name) Personal Finance” and keep it by the computer. Use it to keep all of your personal finance goals, thoughts, activities, and plans.

On your To Do List write down oneor maybe more FUN activity(ies), and do it (or them)!

Write and share whether prioritizing some fun into your day helped your productivity.