"Just 8 hours"

For most, a  typical workday is 8 hours. How many times have you started the day and said, “Just 8 hours to go…”? Admittedly, I have done it on occasions when there has been nothing really exciting or challenging to work on. I think every person, at every level has felt that way, even if they haven’t verbalised it.

In a way, a very real way, we are wishing away part of our lives and the time we are wanting to pass in an instant, can never be recovered.

Imagine if we had to pay a fee for each and every hour we lived. How different would our attitudes be? Say we had to pay an additional tax of R100 per hour to be at work, would we still be just wishing our R800 away because we didn’t feel like doing a particular task assigned to us? My approach would be, instead of feeling like I am wasting my money, I’d rather finish the activity as quickly as possible to be able to move onto something different and see my money spent on something I actually enjoy doing. I only have a finite supply of funds and would rather be spending it wisely.

Well, think of your bank account of time. It too only has a finite supply. As you make a withdrawal, it does not get replenished. You only have the allocation that you were born with.  The “just 8 hours” is a commitment that will not be refunded, so spend it wisely. Invest it in making your workday the best 8 hours possible. I’ll admit, that’s not always easy, especially after being on holiday and now returning to an office routine again, but ultimately, we get to choose the attitude we adopt to face those 8 hours.

I was also reminded that within the “just 8 hours”, how many opportunities there are to impact on other people’s lives. We can live in the wasteful clock-watching mode, waiting for knock-off time and just getting through in a survival mode, or we can be vigilant in identifying needs in people around ourselves. See where others need encouragement, a positive word may be just what they need to boost them through their 8 hours. So many people are suffering with hurt, depression, anger or rejection. See how you can make your “just 8 hours” into an investment by influencing your immediate surroundings. If you see your workday in that way, 8 hours can actually seem too little…