Here’s an excerpt from the conversation:
Gerald Tan, host:
There’s this one tip, one micro skill that’s in the book about offloading routine tasks that bring you no joy or purpose.
Many Singaporeans will want to rehearse that conversation because they can’t wait to get things off their responsibility, but they don’t know how. They don’t know how to speak to their bosses about it, they would just suffer in silence.
So tell us, how does that practically work out?
Dr Adaira Landry, co-author and emergency medicine physician:
It’s very important for us to make it clear that we are not referring to the core roles of your job, I have given many lectures on this exact topic.
We should have a sense of happiness, a sense of purpose, a sense of growth when we’re doing work right, and if you’re not having that, then perhaps the work you’re doing is not right for you.
And inevitably, every single time I give this lecture, someone more senior raises their hand and says: “Are you telling people to quit their job? Because if I hired you for something and you tell me you’re not going to do it because it doesn’t bring you joy, I can’t keep you there.”
And so I think that’s a big, very important distinction … What we’re referring to is different.
These are a lot of the more optional tasks that still fill our plate, that still cause mental overwhelm and burden.
I have used ChatGPT as well for navigating conversations in anticipation for having it. And so there’s all sorts of ways you can do it.
