Work days vs wonderful days

Author Raja Krishnamoorthy / Kitty - Aug 23, 2024

Work days V/S wonderful days;
Off days V/S Awful days?

Today I had this call, more of a mentoring call, with this manager from one of the
organizations that I’m serving as a coach & consultant.

She asked, “Was it a very long working day for you?”
I realized something interesting about me and my "day!".

I told her that this question of "how my working day or weekend was?" isn’t so
much applicable to me in the way I look at my life and my every day.

She said, “Oh, I see. That’s interesting.” Yes, it is interesting, and I thought I’d
share this with all of you.

When I look at my life, I find that I don’t actually classify days as working days or off
days. When examined closely, I see that I either have a "fruitful day" or what I may
call a " meaningful day" versus a not-so-fruitful day, or a messed up day. These
labels apply to me much better.

Let me explain why.

Firstly, my every day is a combination of work-related activities—professional
pursuits, offering services, addressing customer or client needs, managing a work
team—and personal needs essential for physical, intellectual, and emotional wellbeing. These two dimensions exist in my everyday life in different proportions.

For most people, work-related demands are higher on weekdays (Monday to
Friday), and they shut off or reduce those demands significantly on weekends
(Saturday and Sunday), using that time to focus on personal needs like family and
relationships.

There’s nothing wrong with that; it’s the way the world operates.
Most of the world. Not me sir! My life doesn’t follow this norm.

1. This isn’t an arrogant statement but rather a clear conviction based on how I’ve
been living for a long time. Given my profession as an advisor, consultant, coach,
mentor, and social activist, work demands often come up on Saturdays and
Sundays.

2. Many social activism issues or requirements like meetings and motivational talks
occur mostly on weekends. I give them as much importance and priority as any
other day.

3. Therefore, even by the definition of my work life, the normal classification of
working days and off days doesn’t fit. Another reason why I reject this
classification is because the real question for me is whether a day is meaningful or
fruitful.

For me, the "meaningfulness and fruitfulness" come from the quality of
engagement on that day.

When considering the quality of engagement, the questions for me are:

Have I been able to get involved deeply in whatever it is—work or personal—with
commitment, enjoyment, and curiosity? Some might wonder if there’s ordinariness
in these activities. For me, even ordinary tasks are done with extraordinary
interest.

For example, about 30 minutes ago, I was cleaning up the kitchen after Meena, my
wife, finished managing dinner. She asked if it would be okay for me to handle the
kitchen cleanup, and I agreed as usual. No one supervises me; no one watches me.

Here is what I did.
1. First, I washed the dishes in an order that I enjoyed.
2. Then I cleaned the kitchen platforms thoroughly.
3. Once again, using a special cleaning agent I cleaned the kitchen to the point of
"shining finish" as much as could be done.

I could have just cleared debris from the platforms and stopped but chose to do an
in-depth cleaning using a special spray cleaner on our 30-31 feet of kitchen
platform and tabletop area. 
It made me happy to do this thorough cleaning even though no one was watching
or expecting it from me. That is the point:

Am I doing most of whatever I am doing- personal or professional- with joy, with
deep involvement, as if "this matters so much", enjoying even the simple,
ordinary bits and pieces of it?

This illustrates how my life differs; I choose to live differently.

My professional commitments happen even on weekends when required by
clients without hesitation. Similarly, personal needs are attended to daily with
care and high standards.

So when asked "how my day was?", by this friend, my response was “very fruitful”
and “very meaningful.” She said, "Hey Raja, I envy you!"... I told her seriously, yet
politely: "it is really up to you, start from tomorrow!"

Seriously!

Can we look at our days not as working days or off days but as meaningful or
fruitful days?

Think about it.

Love you guys; all the very best!

in Awareness & Love
Raja Krishnamoorthy
23-8-24, 10.30pm; Chennai