GUIDING PRINCIPLES
The work/leisure balance
What is work and what is leisure? Both are activities. I could do web design as a hobby for example and then it would be called a leisure activity, but if I did it as a business then I would call it work. Or is it a case of what you have to do and what you don’t have to do? A bit like doing the washing up at someone else’s house. You don’t have to do it, so it becomes fun. But as you can see there is a lot of overlap and any activity can move from one camp to the other. I guess I need to define them though before I can move any further. So here goes.
- Work
- Any activity that leads to the maintenance of ones current lifestyle. Activities that generate an income, in order to maintain ones financial level. Also activities that maintain ones household such as chores. Things that have to be done to keep oneself alive and healthy. There is a definite goal or outcome.
- Leisure
- Any activity that does not lead directly to the maintenance of ones current lifestyle. Done for pleasure and amusement but also for the maintenance of ones mental and emotional health. There is no discrete goal or outcome. The activity is the goal in itself.
I could go on, but I can already see the overlaps coming. But I think I’m going to go with one that has a goal and one that doesn’t. But what about a work of art? OK, so the definitions stop here.
(23/05/06 business planning session) The business and leisure balance is extremely important and the success of each is paramount. One helps the other. I have a lot of free time and I want to enjoy having this free time. I don’t want to have a sudden reaction and then decide that it’s actually too much work and that really I should devote myself entirely to leisure. So I have two goals really: business and leisure and I want both to succeed. One will enhance the other.
Combine work with training
Much as I would like to learn new things as an academic exercise and for possible use in my web design work it is ultimately classed as leisure. The new things that I learn may or may not be used, so it is better to learn and work at the same time. For example, let’s say I know nothing about cgi scripts but would like to learn for use in the future. I make a note of that and then offer to include a cgi form on a client’s site. So I learn and work at the same time. I also learn what I need to learn. But what about the work/leisure balance? I could learn these things in my time off. I could, but then because it would be so similar to working, I need to be careful that I don’t feel as though I’m working and then feel like I need more time off. Better to make a note and wait till there is a drop in client demand and then do it.
Create specific tasks
(06/06/06 business planning session) I am beginning to realise where the motivation is coming from - specificity. Of the tasks that I had set myself this week I found that I was eager to do the ones that were extremely clear and specific. The others seemed to be more difficult. So during the planning session I need to break down the sections even further into very specific tasks.
Prioritize the tasks
(26/09/06 business planning session) Well, there has been a definite lack of direction due to the time away I guess. But I seem to have lost the overview on the overall plan and the volume of work. I know that I have to balance business with leisure and work with training and make all tasks clear and specific. But what about priority? I think that due to the increase in the volume of work the basic priority order has been lost.