Any plans tonight?
Every morning Steve Jobs asks himself, "If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I’m about to do today?" If he answers 'no' too many times in a row, he knows that something has to change.
Now let's talk about work.
How many days have I dragged myself to the office? How long ago should I have made a change? When was the last time I answered yes to that question?
Of course, thinking about the past here is not as important as thinking about the future. I'm not prepared to make a big change and I'm still unclear on where I want to be. Pause. Let's take a step back before I begin condemning the past few years. A thought occured to me to battle this imminent depression.
I need to make plans.
Not long-term plans like where I'd like to retire. Just immediate plans so that I'll have something to look forward to each day.
Let me illustrate:
"If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I’m about to do today?"
"Yes."
"Why? You have to go to work and deal with ass-hats."
"True. But after dealing with ass-hats I have plans to have dinner with friends. And that is something I want to do today."
"What about the nine hours before that?"
"For that I have caffeine and an arsenal of snappish remarks."
"Oh. Good. You may go."
Make plans to read a book. Go shopping. Watch a movie. Play sports. Run laps. Design a webpage. Take a photo. Write a story. Practice an instrument. Learn a new language. Go for a drive. Get out of the city. Hang out with your kids. Plan them and follow through. Then in time, you can start working on the long-term ones.
True, Jobs' statement isn't just about work, but it is the first thing that comes to mind. There are 24 hours in a day. If you're a corporate drone like me, you're probably spending a huge chunk of that in a place you don't like. My wish for you is that it allows you time for the things you do. Not all of us have high-paying, self-fulfilling jobs but hopefully, they are sufficient to finance our needs and tolerable enough to stay sane.
If you have such plans and your answer is still no, be alarmed. Be very alarmed.