What is one activity in your work that you are naturally drawn to? What do you like doing or even love doing? Can you spend at least 20% of your time doing it today?
I had one of those days yesterday where I felt like it was all grind and no fun. While this is not normal for me, it was a great reminder of the power of spending my time working on things that I love to do for at least a few minutes a day.
As Markus Buckingham states in his book “Love and Work: How To Find What You Love, Love What You Do, And Do It For The Rest of Your Life” (Fantastic book, BTW!):
“Research from the Mayo Clinic shows that the goal should be to find love in at least 20 percent of the work you do. And in any job, if you find that you don’t love 20 percent of it, if the percentage slips to 15 percent, 10 percent, or, God forbid, zero, then you are far more likely to experience burnout, accidents on the job, and to start medicating yourself with absences, alcohol, and drugs.
So, no, loves are not a luxury, reserved for the precious few. Loves, expressed, are a necessity for us all. Stifle them, deny them, block their flow, and they will destroy you from the inside out. But identify them, honor them, and let them flow into contribution, and you will become the biggest and most powerful version of you.”
The research shows you only need to spend 20% of your time on tasks that draw you in, that you like, or even love doing. It’s not about loving 100%! Just 20% makes a huge difference. So what will you spend your 20% on today?