How will you spend your time?

Posted on November 09, 2020 by Shawna Gemmell, One of Thousands of Career Coaches on Noomii.

Those words broke my heart. These were the words of someone I know to be incredibly talented, smart, kind-hearted, funny, and, most of all, brave. It was even more difficult for me to hear because this person isn’t riding out a job they don’t like for the next two years. Chances are they still have at least twenty years left to work. The worst part was, they weren’t my career coaching client, and they didn’t ask for my advice. All I felt I could do was tell them how wonderfully talented I thought they were, even though what I really wanted to do was jump into coaching mode and start digging in. But one of the keys to coaching is to know when someone is ready to be challenged and when someone isn’t and then honor that. So, I am minding my own business, for now.

But the comment is still sitting with me. Think about it. Think about something you “don’t really like” to do. It can be anything; doing your laundry, going to the dentist, paying bills, cleaning toilets. I’m sure you can come up with something pretty quickly. For me, it is running on a treadmill. I can’t think of anything more boring to do (unless my old running partner was on the treadmill next to me, then it was fun, but that was likely more about the chit chat than running!). I’d set the treadmill timer for thirty minutes, and I would look at that timer count down every dull minute until it hit zero. I know that I got some benefit from it, but it was not fun, and over time I grew to dread it. Now imagine that treadmill or that thing you “don’t really like” is your job. If you are working full-time, you will set your timer to start counting down from 124,800 minutes at the beginning of every year. Multiply that by twenty years, set that timer for 2,496,000 minutes. Almost 2.5 million minutes of your life doing something you “don’t really like” to do! I know that most of you work more than the forty hours a week I used for the calculation, and don’t forget about the commute time. It depressingly all adds up, all for something you don’t really like.

Gallup’s World Poll shows us that only fifteen percent of employees worldwide are engaged in their work. Man, that means eighty-five percent of us have some sort of dissatisfaction with our work. I’m not saying everyone hates their job, but it’s not providing them with something that gets them excited or feeling challenged. I know for me when I am feeling engaged it means I am working towards a purpose that makes sense to me. It doesn’t mean that every day is perfect, and it certainly doesn’t mean that it isn’t hard work, but in the long run, I find meaning and value, and most of all I enjoy it.

Why are people so willing to give up 124,800 minutes or more of their life every year to do something they don’t really like? Now I know that 2020 has been an incredibly challenging year for many people and that that there are situations where people needed to take employment opportunities for financial reasons, especially right now. I get that, and I would never suggest that anyone give up their job to follow their passion to be a ziplining guide through Costa Rican rainforest rather than take care of their financial responsibilities. The question is for those who have been through the tough times and come out the other end but are still doing that job they don’t really like.

Here are a few reasons that clients and colleagues I’ve worked with over the years have said to me:

- I fell into this job and don’t know what else I can do;
- I don’t like my job, but I like my company and the people I work with; I would have to make new relationships;
- It is a risk; what if I don’t like it as much as I thought I would;
- It will take a lot of time and effort to make this change;
- Expectations of others get in the way, parents, spouse, peers, and bosses, etc.;
- Fear of failing at something new or different;
- My job is my identity; if I didn’t do this, who would I be?

The reasons are personal, so I know that there are more out there. My question is, whatever the reason, is it a bigger priority than your happiness? Is it a bigger priority than seeing the purpose and feeling excited about what you do? Over the years, I moved a lot for my work, to new countries and cultures, and most recently jumped in to start my own business. And guess what? Every freaking time I was afraid. People would tell me how brave I was. Being brave had nothing to do with it. I had decided that my priority of travel, adventure, learning about the world, and doing work where I was challenged and that I was happy about was more important than my fear of possibly failing.

So, in the words of Mary Oliver, “tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” Is it time to sit down with a pen and paper and write out your dreams, list all of the things you have a passion for or interest in? Is it time to have a conversation with a boss, mentor, or even a coach who can help you explore your future options? The one thing I know for sure, as we approach a new year, it is in our control to decide how we are going to spend our 124,800 minutes.