Many years ago, I (Jim Rohn) used to say, “I’ve got to get my family to the beach. I’ve been promising to take them to the beach. What are they going to think if I don’t take them?” Guess where I was while thinking about the beach–at the office.
I finally get my family to the beach, but at the beach I’m saying, “I should be at the office. Here I am at the beach when I have so much to do. I should cut all this short and get to the office.” I’ve messed up my beach time with the family by thinking about the office.
So I learned this lesson: make a playday a playday and workday a workday. Don’t mix the two. Sure enough, if you say, “I’m going to take off at three o’clock and go play,” guess what you are thinking about all morning–taking off to go play! Don’t play at work, and don’t work at play. It’s a great rule to follow to ensure that your time is used more effectively. All of this has to be modified to fit your particular situation. No one rule will apply to all situations. But keep this main thought in mind, and separate work and play.
When I take a lecture tour to Spain or Australia, I make it a work trip. Every day is filled with lectures, speeches, and business conferences. Then I arrange a play trip, because when I play, I really want to play.
A builder friend of mine now has the luxury of working a week and taking a week off. That’s his system–work a week, play a week. And with weekends on either side of his play week, it’s really nine days. He works five and takes off nine. That is luxury, right? However, the five days he works, he really works. He enlists the help of his secretaries, accountants, architects, and superintendents. He works around the clock, into the night, for five heavy, full days. Then he’s off to play. When he works, he really works so that he can have a longer stretch of play time. Perhaps we can’t all do that, but we can learn to practice the skill of separating work and play.
* Source: Leading an Inspired Life by Jim Rohn