Earlier this season on Grey’s Anatomy, one of my favorite shows, there was a scene where an older man is talking to McSteamy and says, “one day, you are going to wake up and all the big stuff – all the milestones you have been looking forward to – graduation, wedding, having kids, your grandkids – it’s all behind you – it’s all over. All you got is a bunch of yesterdays and very few tomorrows.”
This quote really made me think about how I am spending my time and where I am spending it. I will be finishing graduate school this fall and I can’t believe how fast the past 2 years have gone. I thought to myself – Time is flying by so fast it’s scary. How do I make things slow down, there are too many things I want to do!
Anyway, back to my point. I was listening to a webinar by J.D. Power and Associates about gen y early careerists and their behaviors when I realized that they were defining me to a tee. They stated that early careerists spend on average, 3 hours per day online. Now for most of us, we are thinking – Just 3? I spend way more than that. And that may be true, I know it is for me, but even though we are in the new information age (Have you seen those hilarious bing commercials?), I think we need to take a step back from the computer every now and then and smell the fresh air. We all have the numerous blogs we like to read everyday, numerous sites to visit. Homework must be turned in. Blog posts must be written. And not to forget – work must be done.
I know very well that all of these things must be done and we all want to be successful and be great at our jobs, but we have to remember to step back every once in a while and take a deep breath. Go on a walk outside with your dog. Go sit on a nice patio with your friends. Relax on the back porch and read a book that does NOT have to do with business or how to further your career (I personally can’t wait to sit down with The Carrie Diaries and Spin: A Novel). Take up Pilates. I don’t know what it is but just get out and do something!
With the beautiful weather lately, we all need to enjoy it as much as we can before it gets so hot you can fry an egg on the sidewalk. As a person who reaches for her computer first thing in the morning after making my coffee, I am writing this just as much for me as for all the other hard working gen yers out there.
Just sayin’
