It was during the summer months…Those months where its boring at work… You try to finish all your projects, achieve all the pending tasks before you leave on holiday. In a way, it could be great! But with many colleagues on holiday and the perspective of leaving yourself in a few weeks… it’s slow and not as exciting as usual!
By now, you probably know I love reading. During this month of July, a few years ago, I was in my fiction phase I think. Or was it the period when I red this great book “Thinking fast and Slow” by Daniel Kahneman? It doesn’t matter… There was not so many people in the office, so I decided to test something : What would be the reactions of my colleagues if I decided to read a book during a break?
I assumed I would take a few remarks and astonished eyes when people would see me doing this terrible thing, and the remarks, I took… “Shouldn’t you be working?” “Life is relax for you…” and of course “Sorry to disturb you, but I have a question on this meeting we have later today…” No, you are not sorry at all !
Book vs Screen
You see, when I read something on my mobile phone or my computer, it can be the most stupid thing in the world, nobody will tell me I should work or disturb me as easily as they did with my book in hands. Even if we know – yes we know! – that disconnecting from our computer and, why not, reading a book will give us a far better break than browsing for the latest gossip .
Anyway… this is one of the good things about home-working : nobody cares about what you do during your break! You can listen to your favoured music, or pick-up your guitar (quite dangerous) or even read something interesting like a book or a (weekly) newspaper, you only need to get the work done and be on time for your next call.
If you read regularly, let’s say thirty minutes a day, you might learn something, be inspired, be relaxed and even more productive when you go back to work.
So why don’t we read more? And why is this socially less acceptable to do it at work than say, reading your feeds on Social Media?
“No place to do it”
We are there to work for our company, not to relax or learn even something related to our work. So if you are on your mobile phone or your lap-top, you give the appearance you are working. Even if you are not. You give the impression you are not having any break necessary to refill your energy level. No, you work constantly the whole day.
We would probably work better by taking more time to read. Reading develop our capacity to communicate, which in turn, help us better collaborate with others. The more we read what requires concentration, the more we learn to focus. We inform ourselves better and develop our critical thinking.
Finally, we develop our brain connections and become more creative : isn’t part of creativity “just” connecting ideas to create new ones ?
Feeling guilty
Today, as self-employed, I have more flexibility about my schedule. I can decide how to organise myself and what are my priorities. Even in this context, I very often feel guilty when I read a book. I guess it’s because I love to do it and it’s not real work.
But actually everything I am doing now doesn’t seem like work : I am building part of my dream day by day!
So what?
Should I stop reading and take more time to do things that will help develop my business? Then how should I improve myself as a coach without accessing the knowledge and experience of experts by reading books ? What about understanding at least part of our world today – and the context in which my Clients and I we evolve ?
And If I tell myself to stop reading until my company is really at the level I want it to be? When will it be? How will I be inspired to write and tell, or simply to find the energy in those days where it’s more difficult than others?
So I keep organising myself to read everyday with very few exceptions. Maybe I won’t make it with my business. Maybe I should dedicate every minute of my day to all the rest but reading. Maybe…
And you?
I am curious : what do you do during your break at the office? And when you work at home? Are there some of you who read during their brakes? Do you have any comments from your colleagues or boss?
Please dont hesitate to send me your thought’s on the topic or write your comments below!
In the meantime, have a great boosting time!
ReBoosting-yours!
Laurent
