When You're at Work, Be at Work

Sometimes I spend too much time working. Not that my job isn't demanding. In fact, truth be told, some weeks I could probably work 24/7 and still not be caught up.

But there are times when I spend too much time at work because I just haven't concentrated on my work well that day. My mind wanders. I've got personal issues that spill over into the work day. Maybe I didn't plan the day well, and so when the day grows late I find myself having to get something important done that, frankly, should have been done first thing that day.

One thing I'm pretty good at is not letting my computer distract me. But I know from working with others that - more so today than in the past - people click and surf while they're working and their attention is dragged from one thing to another. My sense is that the younger you are, the more this comes up. Our electronic lives, our attachment to the use of gadgets, makes concentration on one thing a real challenge.

But even though I'm personally not so distracted by my gadgets, it's still an issue some days. And so I've been working hard at being at work when I'm at work.

And it's not just a matter of being more efficient or productive with my time. It's a matter of living a balanced life - the sort of life God wants me to live.

See, I know that He doesn't want me to have my work on my mind when I'm with my family (even though I do a lot of the time). When I'm with the people I love, then I should be there 100%, not kind of standing around with my mind wandering to what I should have gotten done during my day at work, or what I have to get done tomorrow.

So it's the same when I'm at work, right? It makes no sense for me to be sitting at my laptop with my mind wandering to what I need to pick up from the store on the way home, or some problem with one of the kids, or some family activity that we're planning.

What it comes down to, I guess, is that whether I'm at work, or I'm at home - or anywhere else for that matter, I won't be fully engaged with what's there in front of me unless I live in the present moment.

And sure enough, Our Lord has something to say about all this, something I'm sure we've all read or heard dozens of times:

“Be not therefore solicitous for tomorrow; for the morrow will be solicitous for itself. 

Sufficient for the day is the evil thereof.” (Mt. 6:34)

You could take this as an exhortation not to worry, not to be anxious. I think that's part of what Our Lord means. But I was thinking that it's also an exhortation to live in the present moment, not the future, or even the past. It's reminding us that what's on our plate - whether it's at work or at home - is enough for us to handle right now.

It makes sense to me. I've got plenty on my plate today at work. And to the extent I just focus on my tasks today, to the extent I don't let distractions waste my time, I know I can be done with this day's work and get home to my family. And I know that tomorrow's work will be there waiting for me when I get to my office.

That's why I've been working at really concentrating during the work day on work. And believe me when I tell you it's not the easiest thing I've ever tried to do - at least for me.

But when I remind myself that this really is what God wants from me - to pay attention to this day, to this day's cares, to this day's work - then it makes it a bit easier. It means I'm doing His Will. It means I'm working as He wants me to work.

Sure, it also means I'll be working more efficiently and therefore probably more productively. But the knowledge that I'm doing God's Will, that I'm doing what He wants me to do really does motivate me a lot more than just the idea of my being more efficient.