How Killing Zombies Helps Me Make More Money at Work

You can find a million blogs on the internet about aiding productivity at work. You can find a million and one blogs on the internet about the importance of self-care. Both have a wealth of value if executed properly, but I’ve recently discovered for myself just how intertwined the two are for the solopreneur.

 

Over 10 years of running my own business, I’ve lost count of the times my well-intentioned plans the night before a workday have fizzled in the light of the morning as my undiagnosed ADD whispers seductively “you’ve got plenty of time to do those tasks later…”  Lo and behold, before I knew it, it was suddenly “later.” Many days because a familiar refrain of:

 

Procrastinate early in the day

Scramble to catch up in the afternoon

Resign myself to finishing work later before bed

Relax “for a bit” after the kids are asleep – proceed to scroll social media for an hour+

Then scramble (again) to finish up work when I should be winding down for sleep

 

(This should probably be it’s own blog post, just as much for me as you, Dear Reader, but for now… However much time you spend on your phone – find a way to spend less!)

So let me tell you how killing zombies helped my productivity at work.

I have been midway through playing God of War: Ragnarok, Spider-Man 2, and The Last of Us II for… about 2 years! I love video games, especially ones with good narratives and great graphics but LIFE often gets in the way of making it all the way through a 40+ hour game without some significant breaks.

Well lately I’ve been revisiting TLOU II, wanting to finish it before the series airs on HBO in April  (trigger warning… ya know… zombies and stuff)

 

It’s had an unexpected and welcome side effect at work!  When I have something I’m specifically looking forward to doing for myself (even if it’s not necessarily “plans” and more of a free evening) it’s much easier to keep a motivated mindset during work hours because I have a goal – a PERSONAL goal – waiting at the end.

(As a side note – I also love to read, but realized this mindset doesn’t work as well for me with books. Since it’s so easy and accessible to pick up a book and read anytime, even if it’s just for 10-20 minutes, I don’t necessarily need to carve out specific time, therefore it doesn’t work for me as a post-work goal)

The most interesting thing to me about this?  The fact that being intentional about my personal down time is what makes it work. And that this intentionality yields multiple benefits.

1. As mentioned, it helps keep me on track during the work day. It puts a more calculable value on time itself, and reminds me that I’m in control of how I allocate it.

2. It reminds me to spend my downtime doing something I actually want to be doing. Which may sound silly or like a simple problem to avoid, but if you’re anything like me, it can be hard to remember sometimes, in this often-distracted over-stimulated world we live in, exactly what those things are that bring us joy (and not just dopamine).

2a.  It’s also very easy for me to just fall back on… working some more! Like, since I CAN work at any time, I SHOULD?! (ahhh the curse of the self-employed work-from-home business owner)

3. And of course, it helps keep me from just falling into a social media hole after work. Because as much as that FEELS like downtime while I’m doing it… not only does it drain instead of recharge me, but I lose way more of my precious time than I intend.

Often when people ask me for advice in their personal lives – be it about relationships, parenting, what-have-you – I often find myself coming back to the same general idiom. “Put your own oxygen mask on first.”  It comes up in parenting and relationships the most I think because these are areas where people commonly lose themselves. This often happens in a noble or well-intentioned way, and make no mistake, caring for and serving others is arguably what we are here in this world to do. But I think we can all agree (at least when we’re objectively evaluating other people) that if you don’t take care of yourself,you can’t take care of others well either.

It follows, and stands to reason, that we cannot care for our work well, if we’re not caring for ourselves well outside of work.

I’ve found what’s working for me – at least right now. It will fluctuate. Sometimes it will be making music, going dancing, getting on the lake… it’s remembering what I love, and getting down to business at work to make sure I get the time for it once I punch out.