This post provides several key takeaways inferred from the author’s contemplation and experience after taking “on leave” status and having off days from routine duty. Those takeaways are:
Burn out
As a human being, it is completely alright to experience burnout after running several events simultaneously. Burnout is not only attributed to overwhelming situations resulting from overworking or an overload of duties, but also to a misalignment between one’s core values and the work that they do.
The Need to Take a Break
The author is fully aware that it is imperative for an individual to take a break, even for only a short period, from routine and mundane daily duties. It is understandable, especially for young people, to feel like they are always in a rush, in a hustle to be as productive as they can to be able to feel satisfied and competitive as well as to advance toward their goals as soon as possible. Ultimately, humans are still human, with all their limitations and emotions to be recognized and acknowledged. Taking a break is a need, and it is as important as working and completing tasks. Moreover, taking a break also facilitates the body and mind to process, evaluate, and improve, which also leads to the next takeaway.
Rest and digest
Everything indeed has its momentum, phase, and time. An individual, in general, goes through two main circumstances: fight or flight, and rest and digest. Being in a busy and rushed situation might lead an individual to experience a stressful situation, which can be identified by our brain as a fight-or-flight situation. Nevertheless, being constantly in this mode might lead to burnout and suboptimal learning throughout the process. Hence, a rest is necessary to digest the information retrieved, which might eventually lead our conscious and subconscious minds to work in favor of achieving a particular goal.
Subconscious and Conscious Mind
Continuing on the previous point, the subconscious mind runs in the background, processing information received from the surroundings and experiences that one might not fully notice or be aware of. Together with the conscious mind, it processes information that might influence one’s decision and behavior. Meditation and contemplation might be some of the best ways to conclude the information processed by the conscious and subconscious minds, and further proceed with actions toward the ultimate goals.
Motivation and Work
This post suggests that there are at least five aspects that might influence an individual’s work motivation in a certain job and career:
- Incentives (salary, bonuses, other benefits): while they are not always the only absolute factor of work motivation, incentives might positively influence work motivation as they might improve one’s well-being.
- The topic, field, and substance of the work: a match between skills, interests, expertise, and the field and tasks is essential to keep motivated, as it can lead to the optimization of one’s capabilities that contribute to collective benefits and personal satisfaction.
- The colleagues, coworkers, or human capital: it is undeniable that inspiring, encouraging, and supportive colleagues and superiors might boost one’s work motivation, and vice versa. The society or people aspect of a workplace might be a considerable external factor affecting an individual’s motivation to work and complete tasks.
- The opportunity for self-development: a balance between work and life is essential for an individual to sustain in an occupation and career. Hence, an opportunity in terms of time and probability to develop one’s skills, interests, and passion might be an enhancing factor of the motivation to work.
- Work system: a remote or hybrid (partly working from the office and partly working from home) might be an advantageous mechanism for workers in many occupations that are applicable (with some exceptions, such as public services occupations that require physical interactions). Hence, workers in occupations that do not require intensive physical interactions might benefit from a remote or a hybrid work scheme, as the scheme offers time and cost efficiencies.
hope. 