The Progressive Workplace Series: Are You Awesome?

I read an interesting “listicle” the other day called “12 Things Awesome Employees Do Before Noon”. As I was reading through it, dosage a couple of thoughts struck me:
(1) There are some pretty solid ideas in here, and
(2) Holy smoke, who could possibly have time to do all this?

Here is a summary of the “Keys to Awesomeness”

• Make a “To Do List” the day before
• Get a full night’s rest (8 hours, minimum), and don’t hit the snooze button
• Exercise in the morning, and practice a “morning ritual” such as reading, meditating, praying, etc.
• Eat breakfast
• Arrive at work on time, check in with your boss and your team.
• Tackle big projects first, avoid morning meetings, and allot time for message follow up.
• Take a mid-morning break

As I reflected on these individually, there weren’t any I could really argue with. However, as I considered them in the aggregate, the natural skeptic in me came out, and I decided to do a little math exercise. Follow me here….on the path to awesomeness.

• Awake at 5:30 AM , after 8 hours of sleep (what, you mean you stay awake past 9:30 PM? Awesomeness requires commitment! Now, off to bed…)
• 5:30 – 6:00 AM: Morning ritual
• 6:00 AM – 7:15 AM : Dress, go to gym, work out, return home
• 7:15 AM – 7:30 AM: Eat breakfast (awesome people also eat fast, so hurry up)
• 7:30 – 8:00 AM: Shower and dress for work (wear something awesome) Wait, wth? It’s already 8:00 (time for work, for most of us, and you haven’t even LEFT home yet? Are you not awesome?
• 8:00 – 8:30: Drive/Ride/Teleport to work (ok, is 30 minutes even reasonable for most of us?)
• 8:30 – 8:45: Park your car, walk into the office, put your stuff down.
• 8:45 – 9:30: Check in with your team and your boss.
• 9:30 – 10:30: Be Awesome…
• 10:30 – 10:45 : Follow up on messages
• 10:45 – 11:00 : Mid Morning break

Whew….tired yet ? It’s almost lunch, and you have worked one hour. Can you be awesome in 60 minutes ? I sure hope so…

Ok – back to reality now. If there is one takeaway from this blitzkrieg of awesomeness, it’s that these 12 things may make you awesome – but I’m not sure it’s all that realistic to adhere to this routne.

However, there are some of these that I regard as “bedrock”, and will certainly make you a happier and healthier person. So, without further adieu, my version of  “5 Steps to Being Awesome in the Progressive Workplace” – a bit simpler and more streamlined, and more geared to the kind of workplace we all hope for.

Step 1: Charge your batteries: Get your rest the night before – you know how much sleep you need to feel energized.
Step 2: Rev up the motor: Get up on time, exercise, and eat something not fried or covered in sugar for breakfast.
Step 3: Represent: Get to work at a normal time, and show up with a smile on your face.
Step 4: Plan: Take 15 minutes to plan your day, then check in with your colleagues.
Step 5: Execute: Go forth and conquer – after all, you ARE awesome!