{"id":14439,"date":"2022-08-27T08:17:00","date_gmt":"2022-08-27T16:17:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/?p=14439"},"modified":"2022-08-26T00:11:21","modified_gmt":"2022-08-26T08:11:21","slug":"what-work-matters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/2022\/08\/27\/what-work-matters\/","title":{"rendered":"What Work Matters?"},"content":{"rendered":"

This is the last lesson in a four-part series about career improvement. On Monday, Cal Newport and I will open a new session of our eight-week class, Top Performer<\/a>. In case you missed them, here are the first<\/a>, second<\/a> and third<\/a> lessons.<\/em><\/p>\n

When it comes to work, there are a lot of different philosophies.<\/p>\n

One is the \u201cit\u2019s just a job\u201d school of thought. This viewpoint argues that work is just what you do to pay the bills, and your leisure time is what really counts.<\/p>\n

A variation of this belief is the idea of early retirement. According to this view, work will always be drudgery, so you should try to get it over with as quickly as possible.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t mean to be unfair to these viewpoints. A lot of jobs do suck. And financial independence, if you can pull it off, is certainly something to aspire to.<\/p>\n

Yet, like it or not, work is a major part of our lives. Even if you can retire early, you\u2019re still left with the question of what to do with those hours. A non-stop vacation sounds appealing\u2014until you\u2019re sitting around at 2pm on a Wednesday, all your friends are at work, and you\u2019re left wondering what to do with your time.<\/p>\n

Another philosophy is that work should be your \u201cpassion.\u201d This camp argues that you should be obsessed with work and constantly driven to achieve your life\u2019s purpose.<\/p>\n

Although a few of us will find work so purpose-infused that we can devote our entire lives to it, this approach is unrealistic for many. Most of us will still want time for friends, family and the occasional vacation. We\u2019d also prefer our work pays well enough that we\u2019re not starving for the sake of chasing our passion.<\/p>\n

My view of work seeks to moderate between these two extremes. Work is neither the sole purpose of life nor is it merely toil to be eliminated. Instead, the goal is balance. Work should be satisfying and meaningful. And work should pay well enough, and leave enough time, so that we can enjoy all the other things we value in life.<\/p>\n

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How Do You Find Meaningful Work that Pays Well?<\/h2>\n
\nListen to this article<\/small>
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