I read. I think. I write. I speak. I teach. I learn. I seek. On a journey to become my best self. Documenting the lessons and resources along the way.
What does flexibility mean to you?
Hey guys,
This past week I have been actively thinking about flexibility.
Having flexibility in life is like a superpower I didn’t know I needed or had. The COVID-19 pandemic, if anything, has taught people, myself included, that flexibility is not something to compromise on.
What is prompting this?
My workplace is forcing everyone back into the office for full-time hours - 5 days a week. Almost zero flexibility unless there is a special need. This is absolutely not something I want to do because in my case it is utterly unnecessary and avoidable. Most ‘bosses’ have the argument that the office environment promotes good cohesion between teams and it’s a social interaction opportunity. I partly agree with it, but there are more downsides to these ups. There is an obvious argument against the wastage of time in travel, getting ready, packing lunches and so on. Time which I can spend with my family or enjoying a hobby. Then there are environmental costs of most people using some kind of fossil fuel-based transportation mode. Also, there are literally hundreds of researches proving that the modern office (open office) environment is bad for productivity and mental health - with constant levels of noise, distractions, poor lighting and so on.
Most importantly for me, I am someone who is quite comfortable with his own company - most people who want to be back in the office and rally for it are people who want the noise and distraction because they cannot be with their own thoughts and don’t enjoy their own company.
After having a negotiating conversation with them (where I was not successful) I told them - I will come but I will (actively) seek out more flexible opportunities as I need my work to fit around my life, not the other way around. This was an empowering statement and an empowering feeling; knowing what I want and acting to pursue it. Also, realising that work is only just one part of my very diverse life - I am not willing to compromise on my flexibility.
Have you had a similar experience in your workplace, or are your work folks more flexible and understanding? Please share your thoughts.
Stay awesome and have a great week ahead 🙂
Naimat
♥️ My Favourite Things This Week
📚 Book - How to Do the Work: Recognize Your Patterns, Heal from Your Past, and Create Your Self by Nicole LePera. I am so glad I found this book (my neighbour gave it to me over an impromptu drinking session). It really packs a punch with a wide variety of mental health and psychological context. It has helped me realise a whole bunch of my psychological patterns that have been confusing me and making me wonder - why do I do this? And why do other people behave the way they do. This is definitely a book I recommend if you want to understand your own past conditioning, behaviours and avoidance patterns, and improve your overall mental health and wellbeing.
🎙️ Podcast - The Tim Ferriss Show #547. Balaji Srinivasan — Centralized China vs Decentralized World, The DeFi Matrix, Ascending vs Descending Trends, Bitcoin Mining as Energy Storage, Reputational Civil War, and Maximalism vs. Optimalism. This is a mammoth of an episode. Break it up into different sessions as this episode is over 4 hours long. Yes, over 4 hours but if you ever wanted to understand the history and the potential future of money, what role China (and now, possibly Russia) will play in all this and how varying trends will impact the lives of average joes like you and me then definitely check out this episode.
✍️ Quote I am pondering
Stumbling on Happiness by Daniel Gilbert
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Naimat Ahmed
I read. I think. I write. I speak. I teach. I learn. I seek. On a journey to become my best self. Documenting the lessons and resources along the way.
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