Okay, so today I was wrestling with this whole “business or pleasure” gray area thing. It’s something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately, especially since I’m trying to, you know, actually enjoy my work, but also, like, pay the bills.
I started by just sitting down and making a list. Literally, two columns: “Business” and “Pleasure.” Under “Business,” I put stuff like “client deadlines,” “invoicing,” “emails,” that kind of thrilling stuff. Under “Pleasure,” it was more like “reading industry blogs I actually like,” “experimenting with new tools,” and “brainstorming wild ideas.”
Then I tried to see where things overlapped. Like, could I turn that “brainstorming wild ideas” thing into something that actually, you know, made money? Or could I make “invoicing” less soul-crushing? (Spoiler alert: still working on that one.)
I spent a good chunk of the afternoon just looking at that list and thinking about past projects. Which ones did I genuinely enjoy? Which ones felt like pulling teeth? And, most importantly, why?
Digging Deeper into my Feeling
- I realized that a lot of the “pleasure” stuff was actually connected to learning. When I’m learning something new, even if it’s challenging, I’m engaged. When I’m just churning out the same old stuff, I’m bored out of my mind.
- I also noticed that the “business” tasks that felt the least awful were the ones where I had a good relationship with the client. When I felt like we were actually collaborating, it was way more motivating than when I felt like a cog in a machine.
So, my big takeaway from today’s little experiment? It’s all about finding that sweet spot. It’s not about making everything “fun,” because, let’s be real, some stuff is just work. But it is about figuring out how to inject more of what I enjoy into the stuff I have to do. And also, maybe, being a little more selective about the “business” I take on in the first place. I finished my work.
It’s a work in progress, for sure. But hey, at least I’m thinking about it, right?
