The Four F’s for finding everyday inspiration

Get out there and find new ways to view what’s ahead.

Maybe you’re not like me. Perhaps you wake up with a smile each day and are able to pound out emails, meetings, and tasks from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. without blinking an eye. You live to work and find this toil incredibly satisfying. If that sounds like you, please close this tab and get back to work.

Now, for the rest of us still reading let’s talk about ways to shake things up and generate legitimate excitement for the work we’re responsible for.

The American economy and workforce have entered a chapter that will define people’s work habits possibly for the foreseeable future. This dynamic shift is creating some interesting dialogue about our workforce perspective, managerial communication, employee preferences, incentivized vacations, and four-day workweeks. The pandemic forced millions of people to reevaluate their work-life balances, office space, and personal needs across all industries. People across the world formed new opinions and habits related to work. Unfortunately, however, not all employees and managers are seeing this evolution in the same light. For instance, Time Magazine as the long-term bastion of the mid 20th Century generation, has decreed that remote work just doesn’t work. As someone who managed a team remotely for almost a decade, I couldn’t disagree more. This article reads more like fodder for those in positions of authority to leverage against their subordinates. In other words, it’s just a form of confirmation bias.

Regardless of where any individual falls on this debate the focus must come back to someone getting up everyday and finding something that works for them personally. Below is an outline of my Four F process for redefining your work habits to reinvigorate your productivity.

Fracturing the Routine

Habits and structure can be a tricky business, especially for creative types. While routines can help forge behavior over time and help us tackle big projects one day at a time, they can also lead to burnout, fatigue and boredom. Even as someone who owns their own business and creates their own schedule, I’ve fallen victim to each one of these maladies.

I decided recently to take a break in the middle of the week and change my surroundings for a few days. As someone who grew up in the lush and humid Southeast, I was drawn to the nearby south Texas desert. It was different. I’d flown over majestic western landscapes before on flights from Atlanta to California, but had never spent any time in the desert at ground level. I packed up my truck and tent and departed Austin for a 5 hour journey to Seminole Canyon, near the southern border town of Del Rio, Texas.

The sunsets were as breathtaking as the midday late summer heat. The canyon was gorgeous. I gazed in awe at cave drawings that were thousands of years old. I spent some time kicked up on a camping chair under a metal awning collecting my thoughts and noodling on my laptop. It was refreshing and eye opening.

One afternoon while hiking along a canyon rim, I sat on the edge of a casm and let my feet dangle below. I wanted to test the acoustics of my surroundings and had a thought as I sat there and pondered ancient ways of life:

Why scream into the empty void when you can find a perfectly preserved canyon in the desert? The echo was certainly much better.

Many times, when working a job that grinds you down, it feels like you need to scream into the void from time to time to keep your sanity. That’s why motorcycles and loud rock music exist. But the point is, why not get out into nature and do some reflection while you’re at it? It’s good for the soul.

Finding Inspiration

Understandably, you may not have ancient Native American hunting grounds nearby to help scratch the itch, but that’s kind of the point. You want to get out into new surroundings and explore the world around you. You really don’t know the paths you are missing until you venture out. That is true in the literal sense of hiking paths, but also the perspective shifts or new directions to take in your life.

I found the landscape inspirational. It’s incredibly invigorating and freeing to get out and explore new places. When the sun went down during my camping adventure I took some of the best pictures I’d seen in years. Even still, there was a sense of not truly being able to capture the moment completely.

Each time I travel I bring back a little perspective that I didn’t have before I left. It’s a great way to energize yourself and it doesn’t have to be complicated.

There’s a bit of science to getting out of yourself. When you do something with your hands or body, like taking up a new hobby or exercise, it allows your brain to process things a little differently. Doing something somewhat brainless allows your mind to venture off and process things that are normally in the back of your brain. I found this process for myself while living in Birmingham, Ala., which rests at the foot of Appalachia. I would take long walks in the woods after a stressful week and my spirit would absolutely unwind itself. A new sense of calm replaced some of my day-to-day anxieties.

Forging New Habits

Part of the process is finding new ways to do things. In terms of my recent trip, I plan to revisit the canyon again in the near future. I will have a better sense of what equipment to bring and what to leave behind. I’ll plan for a different time of year to see a new dimension of the habitat I visited so briefly.

When I started hiking, I was building a new hobby that would keep me engaged for years to come. I could be found in the woods just about year round. Ice, snow, or 90 degree Alabama summers couldn’t keep me away. It was a new and improved way for me to process the week, the month, or the year I was having. I found great healing on those worn and dusty trails. This new hobby helped me keep my weight and my spirit in check. It was also a great mood stabilizer for my dog. He loved being out there even more than I did. I could tell from his at home anxiety levels when it was time for our next 6 mile adventure.

Currently, as I am in charge of my day-to-day calendar and workload, I am still working out the finer points of my new morning routine. What’s the best way to shake the cobwebs loose and get cracking earlier in the day? I’ll provide an update at some point when I have that all worked out.

Finding Balance

The biggest takeaway from all this is that you have to make time for yourself. At first it may feel like you are forcing the issue, but it will be worth it. It’s just like going to the gym, but for your mind. It’s on those days where you’re really pushing back against yourself and having a hard time getting out and doing what I’ve described above. For me, those times when I push myself are usually the most rewarding. I’ll have some epiphany internally, or I’ll get that email or text I’d been waiting on. Really, the only limit is yourself.

It goes without saying that you have to find a time, place and routine that works best for you. If it becomes too much of a burden, the tendency is to stop doing it because of the time or work it takes. I’ve found that I enjoy this type of decompression in the evening. I’ve never been a morning person, so it’s always been easier for me to get out in the evening. What works best for you and your responsibilities is up to you. Finding the time to make time for yourself can even be a journey in and of itself. Maybe there’s some commitment you can let go of to make more time to find your balance.

I believe that if you work hard, and balance your professional and personal life, you can accomplish anything you put your mind to. Sometimes, however, that mantra can be tough to fulfill. Achievement, success, and work-life balance are much tougher things for some of us. We acknowledge the difference in equity that sometimes occurs systematically in our society. We also believe, however, that privilege, or lack thereof, should never be used as an excuse. We’re here to extend the reach and promise of personal advancement beyond the confines of where you are now, or the hand you’ve been dealt. We’ve always had a chip on our shoulder and an outsider’s mentality, but we understand that success can be a great equalizer. It doesn’t matter where you start, but the important thing is to just get started. Put one foot in front of the other and begin your journey right now.

Let us help you start your journey today.