Run rabbit run
Dig that hole, forget the sun
And when at last the work is down
Don’t sit down, it’s time to dig another one
For long you live and high you fly
But only if you ride the tide
And balanced on the biggest wave
You race towards an early grave

That’s a verse from Pink Floyd’s ‘Breathe’.  What a profound message into the reality of all our lives.  It permeates through all facets, most notably personal and career related.  But it does seem more prevalent in the work related aspect of life.  Any moments gained from personal activities have no real need to be rushed into the next, except when it’s known and understood that the time to do those things is limited because of work.  But what about work?  Not sitting down but instead getting right to digging another one is the way it goes, and it makes little sense, at least to me.  Sure, there is always space to move forward and grow, but there also needs to be down time.  What happened to taking time to appreciate what you did?  Why are things so rushed, so much so that the SECOND you get something done, it’s time to do more or jump on to the next thing?  There is this unrelenting mentality that anything “saved” means it can be applied to something else, which is ridiculous.  If you have a $1,000 to buy a couch, but it’s on sale for $700, you just saved $300 – but why does that mean we need to spend it somewhere else?  That’s not saving it.  If you work hard to finish up a project on time, why does no one seem to think that time you put in, and time you saved, should be given back to you as the most inexpensive yet meaningful reward?  Somewhere along the way, a saved moment became an indebted moment, one where you now need to put towards something else that’s “productive”  instead of using that moment to step back and appreciate one’s work, even critique it, learn from it, expand upon it, find ways to make better, etc…Nope, we just hastily rush on to the next project. Rush rush rush.  That leaves little time for appreciation, both for one’s work and for one’s feeling about their work and for feeling about one’s self most importantly.  Hard work is rewarded with more work.  Anything saved here is used to be spent there, taking from Peter and giving to Paul…but what about giving it back to the one who earned it?   I can’t speak for anyone else, but the current pace of things seems unsustainable.  People are not robots, and can’t produce one thing after another with stunning accuracy, incredible detail, and un-waning perfection and not have a breakdown.  This whole process is leaving me uninspired and disillusioned. 

So with that, do yourself a favor and anyone else who may work with you or for you - remember the sun, and when at last work is done, don’t sit down to do another one – push the chair back and reflect on what you created, learn from it, and give yourself a moment to Breathe…perhaps even the rest of the evening off.