If there were a soundtrack to your workday, what would it be?
We can rule out Dolly Parton’s 9 to 5. (Clocking off at 5? You should be so lucky…)
Stayin’ Alive? Barely.
No… If there were a soundtrack to your workday, it would be the sound of your phone ringing. Because that thing just doesn’t seem to shut up.
Remember the days when your inbox was all shiny and new and empty? When every email arrived with an excited “ping” and you enthusiastically dove in to read and reply?
Us neither.
Let’s face it, most inboxes nowadays are more like tentacled sea-monsters. They have you in their grasp, not the other way around. They’re uncontrollable. They’re scary.
What do your work breaks look like?
Do you gobble down a sandwich with one hand while typing with the other and call it a lunch “break”?
Do you get away from your desk but stay glued to your phone?
Because here’s the thing: not all breaks are created equal.
We could open this article with a list of alarming stats about how we all work more hours, suffer from more anxiety disorders, and experience so many more job stresses than we did a few decades ago. God knows those stats are easy to come by.