Scoring "Work" on the Keeping Score Tally
Define "working":
If you work outside the home, why do you do so? Is the work about bringing home a paycheck more than anything else? Then you have a job -- and points earned for working belong in work & home. Is the work about personal satisfaction, growth or having fun? Then you have a career (or a paying hobby) -- and points earned for working belong in mind & soul. Of course this is an over-simplification -- on some days even the best job feels like drudgery and the worst jobs bring great joy -- but the basic motivation usually remains consistent.
Scoring "work" becomes even more complicated upon consideration of stay-at-home parents, full-time students and career volunteers. Though these roles require time, commitment, creativity and effort, they do not, necessarily, generate income. Beyond that, many people incorporate one or more of the following activities into their lives: part-time work, organized volunteering, a home-based business and/or supplemental education.
How then does a generic tally neatly accommodate all circumstances? The short answer is that it can't. The only way you can have a tally that is perfectly tailored to your situation is to create one of your own. In the meantime, however, this tally can and should encourage conscious and deliberate thought about work and its role in your life. Working with the generic / tutorial tally is part of the process in learning how to create a personalized tally that suits your unique life.
The generic tally has space to reasonably accommodate two distinct work-positions, though it would be technically possible to take points for up to four. I suggest, though, that filling more than two work-positions on a daily basis would be difficult. Unless you have more hours in the day than most people, I recommend filling in no more than six queries within the work sub-section of the tally. These points are not here for "dabbling". There are ample opportunities to take additional points for parenting, housekeeping, attending classes and engaging in artistic pursuits later in the tally. If you work or attend school part-time, or if your spouse takes over primary parenting duties on the weekends, do not give yourself points for "working" on the days on which you don't actually work. Being does not earn points; doing does.
Here are some sample combinations for your consideration:
waiter / student
stay-at-home parent / yoga instructor (part-time)
office manager / editor of a community paper (volunteer)
lawyer / dog breeder
accountant / youth group coordinator (volunteer)
programmer / student (half-time or more)
teacher / assorted community commitments
line worker / writer (unpublished but serious)
You:
"I have _______ work-positions that consume a significant portion of my time and energy on a regular basis."
Motivation is everything:
First, you must determine your primary motivation for working in any given position. If you do the work for the money, for appearances or because you "have to", mark your points within queries marked "JOB #X". These points will then be acknowledged in the work & home sphere. If you do the work because you believe in it, are driven to perform that work, OR if you are using the job to build toward the career you want, mark your points within queries marked "CAREER #X". If you work both because you have to and because you like to, you have a couple of options.
You might decide to "pick one and stick to it". You might also decide to use the tally to divy you points into both (w&h) and (m&s), either consistently or on a day-to-day basis. For any one work-position, however, you should take points in only three queries. (Applying three queries will allow for a minimum of 15 points and a maximum or 60 points.)
You:
"I work in this position because __________________. That means I should fill my points into ________."
(pick one combination)
three job/w&h slots
three career/m&s slots
one job/w&h AND two career/m&s slots
two job/w&h AND one career/m&s slots
Titles and their associated responsibilities:
Before you can score points related to working, you must define your title. Many jobs come with a convenient title already attached -- a glance at your business card or employee badge should clear up any confusion. If you don't have a ready-made title, make one up.
You:
"I am a/an ______________."
All job title come with an array of expectations, tasks, roles and responsibilities. In relation to YOUR job title, define the three most important responsibilities.
"As a/an ______________, my first responsibility is to ______________________."
"As a/an ______________, my second responsibility is to ______________________."
"As a/an ______________, my third responsibility is to ______________________."
[NOTE]
It may be helpful to note the definitions you devise somewhere so that you can review them occasionally; consistent expectations lead to usefully reflective daily scores. Should you expand to calculating your weekly or monthly averages, you will want to have data that compares "apples to apples".
Use your browser's back button to return to the Keeping Score tally.
If you work outside the home, why do you do so? Is the work about bringing home a paycheck more than anything else? Then you have a job -- and points earned for working belong in work & home. Is the work about personal satisfaction, growth or having fun? Then you have a career (or a paying hobby) -- and points earned for working belong in mind & soul. Of course this is an over-simplification -- on some days even the best job feels like drudgery and the worst jobs bring great joy -- but the basic motivation usually remains consistent.
Scoring "work" becomes even more complicated upon consideration of stay-at-home parents, full-time students and career volunteers. Though these roles require time, commitment, creativity and effort, they do not, necessarily, generate income. Beyond that, many people incorporate one or more of the following activities into their lives: part-time work, organized volunteering, a home-based business and/or supplemental education.
How then does a generic tally neatly accommodate all circumstances? The short answer is that it can't. The only way you can have a tally that is perfectly tailored to your situation is to create one of your own. In the meantime, however, this tally can and should encourage conscious and deliberate thought about work and its role in your life. Working with the generic / tutorial tally is part of the process in learning how to create a personalized tally that suits your unique life.
The generic tally has space to reasonably accommodate two distinct work-positions, though it would be technically possible to take points for up to four. I suggest, though, that filling more than two work-positions on a daily basis would be difficult. Unless you have more hours in the day than most people, I recommend filling in no more than six queries within the work sub-section of the tally. These points are not here for "dabbling". There are ample opportunities to take additional points for parenting, housekeeping, attending classes and engaging in artistic pursuits later in the tally. If you work or attend school part-time, or if your spouse takes over primary parenting duties on the weekends, do not give yourself points for "working" on the days on which you don't actually work. Being does not earn points; doing does.
Here are some sample combinations for your consideration:
waiter / student
stay-at-home parent / yoga instructor (part-time)
office manager / editor of a community paper (volunteer)
lawyer / dog breeder
accountant / youth group coordinator (volunteer)
programmer / student (half-time or more)
teacher / assorted community commitments
line worker / writer (unpublished but serious)
You:
"I have _______ work-positions that consume a significant portion of my time and energy on a regular basis."
Motivation is everything:
First, you must determine your primary motivation for working in any given position. If you do the work for the money, for appearances or because you "have to", mark your points within queries marked "JOB #X". These points will then be acknowledged in the work & home sphere. If you do the work because you believe in it, are driven to perform that work, OR if you are using the job to build toward the career you want, mark your points within queries marked "CAREER #X". If you work both because you have to and because you like to, you have a couple of options.
You might decide to "pick one and stick to it". You might also decide to use the tally to divy you points into both (w&h) and (m&s), either consistently or on a day-to-day basis. For any one work-position, however, you should take points in only three queries. (Applying three queries will allow for a minimum of 15 points and a maximum or 60 points.)
You:
"I work in this position because __________________. That means I should fill my points into ________."
(pick one combination)
three job/w&h slots
three career/m&s slots
one job/w&h AND two career/m&s slots
two job/w&h AND one career/m&s slots
Titles and their associated responsibilities:
Before you can score points related to working, you must define your title. Many jobs come with a convenient title already attached -- a glance at your business card or employee badge should clear up any confusion. If you don't have a ready-made title, make one up.
You:
"I am a/an ______________."
All job title come with an array of expectations, tasks, roles and responsibilities. In relation to YOUR job title, define the three most important responsibilities.
"As a/an ______________, my first responsibility is to ______________________."
"As a/an ______________, my second responsibility is to ______________________."
"As a/an ______________, my third responsibility is to ______________________."
[NOTE]
It may be helpful to note the definitions you devise somewhere so that you can review them occasionally; consistent expectations lead to usefully reflective daily scores. Should you expand to calculating your weekly or monthly averages, you will want to have data that compares "apples to apples".
Use your browser's back button to return to the Keeping Score tally.