#Leadership : #ProductivePeople – Here’s How Smart, #SuccessfulPeople Take Advantage Of The Long Labor Day Weekend. Great Read!
The Labor Day holiday came about in the late 1800s as a backlash to the abusive work practices demanded by the owners of factories and businesses. Workers were forced to work 70-plus hours a week without vacation time or days off.
The holiday’s founders sought to make changes, including forming unions to protect the rights of workers and reducing work time and six-day work weeks. Labor Day grew to embrace and honor hard-working Americans and remember all of the contributions made by our predecessors to pave the way for our significantly improved lives.
Like many other serious holidays, such as Veterans Day, Martin Luther King Day and Memorial Day, Labor Day has become a long-weekend excuse to shop for sales, barbecue, sit on the beach and just lounge around the house. Somehow, a trend has developed whereby holidays that fall on a Monday or Friday turn into a mini vacation, as people tack on a few extra days.
Most average people will squander this long weekend—and that’s precisely why they are only average. If you don’t put the time and effort into your career and ambitions, while others do, you will fall far behind. Long weekends are perfect to focus on the things that you are unable to accomplish in the usual harried work week.
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Many people have become complacent and feel that they deserve higher pay, promotions and rapid advancement just because they showed up. It’s the adult version of “everyone gets a trophy just for participating.” The cold, hard truth is that’s not how it works. Nobody really cares about you and your career. There are no mentors who will usher you up the corporate ladder of success.
Your boss and management only pays attention if you produce results; otherwise, you’re expendable. Even your family gets tired and bored of hearing about your day at work and all of the corporate politics. In a global economy, you are just a small and meaningless cog in the machine. The times have changed since the 1800s and the Industrial Revolution, but we still have tremendous issues to deal with. The problem is we tend to complain more than we take action.
I’d suggest that you seriously view the Labor Day weekend in one of two distinct ways:
1- You can spend the free three or four days off on the beach, watching sporting events, binge-watching movies on Netflix or just wasting away your precious time. We only have this one short life to live. It’s self-defeating to waste valuable time—that you’ll never get back— by watching the same silly movie for the 10th time, as if you’ll live forever. If that is what you want in your life, then it’s fine.
You just need to be honest with yourself that you are comfortable with your station in life and are not seeking to fast track your career and advance. I’m not disparaging you for this. If that is what makes you happy, then more power to you. Not everyone is motivated to climb the corporate ladder or start the next Facebook. There are plenty of jobs that offer a relatively nice and comfortable living with a reasonable work and life balance. That’s fine. But just be real with yourself that this is the path you’re choosing. You can’t later complain of the inequities in the world and income disparity when you haven’t even made a concerted effort to improve yourself and advance your career.
2- If you want more out of your work life, this is the time to take bold actions. Use this weekend wisely. Think of where you are in your career and where you want to go. Are you happy or are you stuck in a job that is going nowhere fast? If you want to move forward, think of what it is that you want to achieve in your work and in life. Is it a new job? Do you want to pivot to another career? Is it time to finish your college degree or attain an advanced degree? Have you been putting off talking to your boss about your future?
Write down a plan of action to power forward in your career. Put down your goals in writing detailing everything you want to accomplish. This will make it real and hold you accountable. Then, come up with a set of daily actions to achieve your goals. This will be a daily to-do list, which will continually move you incrementally toward your ultimate goal.
During the day, your friends will have you drinking White Claw Hard Seltzer by the pool. At night, they will pressure you into taking excessive shots at the bar. Temptations are all around. Block out all of the distractions that steal your time, energy and prohibits you away from implementing your ideal goals.
Take a break from arguing with strangers on social media, shut off the television and there is just no need to spend over three hours watching baseball games when you can view the highlights on ESPN. Put aside time to quietly assess your life and career.
Be honest with yourself because there is no reason to pretend that everything is going great, if it isn’t. If your goal is to find a new job, then you must update your résumé and LinkedIn profile. Reach out to recruiters and start networking with both your current and former colleagues. The motivated career-oriented ones will get right back to you.
This may not be as fun as a day at the beach, but read some self-help, nonfiction and industry- related books to improve yourself. If you have a short attention span, then read blogs, listen to podcasts and watch YouTube videos to learn about new topics and stay up on current events. Set aside a few hours to get ahead in your work. Finish tasks that you’ve been procrastinating on for weeks.
I’m going to sound like a hypocrite, but utilize the holiday season to purchase a new wardrobe. It could be for interviewing or dressing for success to impress your boss. Select a wardrobe for the job you desire and not for the role you’re currently stuck in. Instead of overindulging in food, alcohol or partying, go for a jog, ride a bike or do some yoga.
You will have an immense feeling of satisfaction at the end of the weekend. There will be a sense of accomplishment and pride within yourself that you took assertive actions to improve your life and avoided wasting the long weekend. You’ll enjoy the smaller amount of downtime much more with the knowledge that you’ve been responsible and productive.