Why Everyone Needs a Second Job

There is a new neighbor down the street.  His name is Dave and he is apparently a wiz when it comes to motorcycles.  I know this because I see him every night working on one in his garage.   

I'm pretty jealous, as you can imagine.   

After all, I don't repair motorcycles, ceiling fans or cars.  I did paint a bedroom this past week which was pretty awesome. But motors... that's a different story.   I call in the experts when wires, oil or engines are involved.

Back to Dave. 

Besides his obvious skills in the garage, what's more amazing is that he has a day job.  Bikes are just a hobby but he treats them with the same energy as if it were a second job.   

His "second job" keeps him energized so that he can excel in whatever he does during the day. 

I started my second job last week as I began a new doctoral program.  For the next three years, I will treat this incredible task as if it were a second place of employment.  I'll have a second office.  A second set of notebooks.  A second set of responsibilities.

My wife, Cary often says that moms need a second job.  Their first and primary, that of being a mom, can benefit from another area of interest.  This looks differently for each mom.  Some get jazzed up by working out.  Others sell stuff online.   

The magic: it almost doesn't matter.   

The key is to be a growing person.  In my experience, a "second job" has the following benefits:

• It ensures that you have an area of interest outside of your "day job"
• It keeps you growing as an individual
• It ensures that your social life is bigger than just your 9-5
• It just might be an area of life where God meets you and teaches you something  

Dave has his second job.  I've got mine.  

The big question is, what's yours? 

*photo by fdp 

What's Holding You Back?

Do you remember the amazing story of Roger Bannister?  He was the first man to run a mile in less than four minutes.  He did this in 1954 after having been disappointed with his performance in the 1952 Olympics.  

High performers are often like that- just getting to the Olympics isn't enough.  They want to win.

Prior to his incredible accomplishment, no other person had broken the magical four minute mile mark.  Within three years, 16 others had broken through and joined the ranks of sub-four minute milers.  Incredible! 

Photo by Norman Potter

Was there something magical about the year 1954?  Did runners suddenly discover a new method of training?  

No and no.  It was a mental and a physical breakthrough.  Runners discovered that they could break through prior barriers in their mind and in their bodies.

Here in Jersey, life is right-smack in the middle of Summer.  The kids are getting tired with having time off.  Our last vacation is right around the corner.  Life is good. 

Yet, I sometimes have a  hard time being "ok" with having time off in the Summer.  Call it Catholic Guilt or something else, I don't know.  Sometimes I feel bad for those who don't have time off like I do in the Summer.  Then I go back to work and don't really enjoy the benefits of Summer.

What's holding me back?  It's a collection of mental models I've built up (work hard, don't rest too much, etc.) and the way our culture works.  After all, most people apparently don't value vacation or time off. 

No.  Time for a change.  As of today, I'm going to stop beating myself up and enjoy Summer.  Thanks be to God that I've chosen to work in education where I can enjoy some downtime and be with my family more than most people can.  Thanks be to my bosses for believing in me and having the confidence in my work.  Thanks be to God for a family that enjoys being together.  (is there anything better than pulling in the driveway to the cheers of screaming kids?) 

Whatever is holding you back... name it and then move on.  Happiness/success/breakthrough is closer than you think.  You may not (or may!) be able to break the four minute mile but there are countless other things you can be accomplishing along the way.   

What's holding you back? 

Feature photo courtesy of FDP 

Heat, Productivity and Perseverance

It's summer and it's hot. I can't actually remember a summer hotter than this and I don't live in the South. Here in New Jersey, we've had two straight weeks of 90+ degree weather.

It's almost sad but a day below 90 now feels like Fall and the entire family gets a little lift. The kids feel happier and Cary and I get a boost of energy and get outside for a bike or just to walk around our neighborhood.

How does heat affect you in the summer?

According to the Center for Disease Control, high temps can bring on what's called "heat stress". Heat stress brings on such real effects and (I'll spare you the details) basically makes you less productive.

According to the Mayo Clinic, high temperatures make your body work harder to cool itself down. The more heat, the harder the body has to work and that spells a decline in productivity.

But does it have to kill your entire summer when it comes to work?

Jessica Stillman from INC Magazine argues that summer doesn't have to be a death knell for your output. While you'll feel more relaxed in the summer (and that's ok), you can still get things done by taking a vacation and by enjoying the outdoors for brief spots during the day.

One thing I like to do at work is take a walk around campus right after lunch. It helps my sandwich digest, gets me more steps in my Samsung Galaxy s4's S Health app and generally makes me happy. 

You can do that too.

All of us, from President Obama down to the person who lives next door, have a need for time off in the Summer. Besides a full-blown vacation, you can also do any of the following small things:

1. Avoid sitting even more than usual. Since it's hotter in the summer, you'll tend to stick to your desk and chair. Stand up more often and if possible, buy or build a standing desk.

2. Take Fridays off. Most workplaces allow for "casual Fridays" but why not use some of your vacation days and just take four Fridays off in a row. It might have a better effect than taking a full week. Better still, it's cheaper than taking a vacation.

3. Rekindle your joy of reading. Be honest with yourself- when was the last time you got through an entire book? A magazine? A blog post online? Why not start and end your summer days with added (and for pleasure) reading?  (btw, a parent of a student of mine just lent me a book via Kindle- how cool is that?)

4. Give yourself permission to be less than awesome.  It's natural that the heat slows us down.  Don't beat yourself up over this.  This isn't a permission slip to slack off but is a bit of spiritual wisdom that will help as Summer rolls on.

These three, simple changes in your Summer can have a big impact on your productivity. Just because it's hot doesn't mean that your work has to suffer.

Why not try one of them this week?

*photo courtesy of FDP 

How do You Know That It's Time for a Do Over?

It's summer and it's blessedly hot here in New Jersey!  The kids are fairing well enough and Cary and I are becoming experts at "air conditioning management".  

In other words, we live in a 60 year old home that has weak AC!

Summer is also great for pulling a Do Over.  Think about it- kids are off from school and have a chance to start over.  They'll do summer reading and recapture some intellectual motivation.  

At work, summer is great for a Do Over as well.  People go away on vacation and tensions that had previously been felt seem to dissipate into the past.  

A Do Over is usually made up of the following:

• time spent away from your usual routine
• conversations with people you love and respect
• reflection on the state of your career, relationships and faith

We're not talking about a Do Over where you get to erase the past.  That's impossible and probably a waste of time to think about.  

Rather, a Do Over in today's context is more about recalibrating where you are at and what you are about.  I work with a lot of people at school and interact with tons of good folks online.  

Some seem genuinely happy and others are outright miserable. (the former, by the way, are the ones that others flock to!)

My website got a Do Over in the past two weeks.  It was time to curate years of content so that it would be easier to access.  I also decided to give readers of The Path pre-access to content before it hit the general public.  (hey, membership should have some privileges right?)

In your life, some things to consider:

• Is there a relationship that could use a Do Over or reset?
• Is your online presence saying what you want it to?
• Is your work life as fulfilling as it could be?

The good news is that Do Overs cost nothing!  They can happen at any time. All it takes is an honest look at yourself and the courage to do something about it.  

Chances are someone else will be glad you did.

9 Reasons why Mornings Set Your Day up for Success

Mornings are amazing.   

A few weeks ago my kids and I decided to camp out in our back yard in the tent.  

• Ghost stories- check.  
• Shadow figures on the tent walls- check.
• Book reading- check.

And so it went.  Just like your typical summer scene and it was great.  And then came the morning.  We didn't wake up. Rather, we were woken up by a literal gang of birds and related animals.  They were so loud that we just had to get up and get going with the day. 

While your day may not begin in a tent, it does have a gift called morning that can set your entire day up for success.   Erik Fisher from Beyond the Todo List podcast always asks his guests, "In an ideal world, how would you start your day?"  There's a lot of wisdom there since the morning is like the springboard to the rest of your day.

Use your morning well and things will go smoothly.

I think that mornings are critical in that they make the following possible:

1. Mornings allow for less resistance on your most important projects.
2. Mornings are the time when you have the most will power.
3. Mornings enable your senses to be most alert (e.g. the birds waking us up in the tent!).
4. Mornings have intrinsic beauty (e.g. dew on grass, sun on leaves, breeze in the air).
5. Mornings allow you to connect with other high-achievers.  Stop by Twitter at some point in the morning and you'll find Craig Jarrow, Gene Monterastelli, Fr. James Martin, John Saddington, Andy Traub and others who are trying to get a jump start on the day.  (It's like going to the gym except you don't sweat.)
6. Mornings help you appreciate quiet time more than any other part of the day (except maybe the dead of night).
7. Mornings help you appreciate your family members better; their faces are more clear in the morning and you have the chance to see their first hour of the day; if you have an infant you know how special it is to be with them the very first time they wake up… simply amazing!
8. Mornings enable you to get into work before others.
9. Mornings allow you to avoid some of the eventual noise that the day will bring.   

If you are a morning person then this post has already resonated.  If you aren't, then I challenge/invite you to try using your mornings more wisely for at least a week.  See how they work.  Find out if they make a difference in your day.  

Mornings don't come naturally to me.  If I stay up late the night before, they aren't nearly as effective as when I turn in at 10pm. The key is that I keep trying and making progress in my mornings so that the rest of the day is as maximized as possible. 

How do you begin your day? 

*photo courtesy of FDP 

How to Respond When Someone Makes a Mistake

It was a lazy Saturday and we decided to grill some chicken legs as part of dinner.  As the official grillmaster for our family, I dutifully warmed the sacred grates.  When our legs got charred, we took them off and brought them into the kitchen.  As the rest of the meal was just about done, Cary (always responsible with food) decided to cut into the chicken.  They weren't cooked.

On to Plan B which included finishing the chicken on the stovetop.  

My work was done or so I thought.  I retreated to the porch and did some reading which was only interrupted by a smell of smoke.  The chicken, unattended by Cary, was cooking alright but the bottom of the pan was darker than ... well, you get the point.  My wonderful wife had gotten lost in some reading herself and forgot to check the chicken.

Was it her fault or mine? Probably hers but that's not so important.  Lord knows I've burnt many a meal, and that's when I was watching things closely.  

The key is this: what should you do when you or someone on your team makes a mistake?  I suggest four steps:

1. Name it so that it doesn't happen next time. Ok, it happened so call it like it is and make sure it doesn't occur next time.
2. Don't make a huge deal about it.  Sometimes the worse you make someone feel is a reflection of an issue you have inside of yourself.
3. Realize that you've made some mistakes along the way too.  'Nuff said.
4. Have a sense of humor.  Instead of minimizing the mistake, humor can show the other person that you still care about them and can laugh at even a bad situation.

Mistakes happen and none of us are immune to them.  The key is to respond with love and professionalism so that they are minimized for the future.  

Photo courtesy of FDP