SUMMARY POINTS

  • You have a limited amount of fucks to give in life
  • Be very selective on what to give a fuck about
  • Simplifying your life leads to more happiness
Chances are that you know a few people at work that have that unbreakable confidence of not giving a fuck.

Sometimes, it’s the office asshole. And in this case, they’re being rude and insensitive. This is not what we’re talking about here.

What we’re talking about is how Sam, the staff level guy from finance, calmly and professionally slammed the door shut on yet another stupid-ass request from a clueless executive - during the department meeting.

Or, how Jen told her boss that she won’t take on the additional second job outside of her normal job responsibilities and the company can fire her if they wanted to.

Or, when Mary stood her ground and didn’t change her family vacation plans to take on an urgent emergency request, saying that the company needs to figure it out without her.

These people didn’t give a fuck about the possible consequences of what might happen because of their actions.

This might look like foolish bravery, but it’s not. This is about being very focused on your priorities in a justified and rational way.

This is the right way to not give a fuck at work.

About Your Job And Not Giving A Fuck

There’s no such thing as a job where you don’t have to give a fuck about anything - that job doesn’t exist. And, if anybody goes into a job with that kind of attitude, they’ll get shit-canned fast.

There’s always going to be something that you need to give a fuck about at work. The only way that you cannot give a fuck about anything is if you’ve hit the lottery, in which case, we hope that you’d go out in a blaze of glory.

The fact of the matter is that every job out there has specific responsibilities. And in a lot of cases, all of the responsibilities are not top priorities. Everything can’t be number one. There will always be higher and lower priority tasks, projects and objectives.

What’s important here is knowing what these priorities are and how they align and support your company’s goals and in a larger scope, where they are relative to your life’s priorities.

This is your guideline and framework for knowing when to give a fuck about something at work and when not to.

How To Not Give A Fuck The Right Way

This isn’t about just becoming an asshole and not giving a fuck about anything at work. You’ll just find yourself on the unemployment line.

This is about standing up for yourself on the things that matter and ignoring or dropping the things that don’t.

You can’t just choose to not give a fuck about the things you don’t like doing at work, even when they’re part of your responsibilities. If you do that, it’ll be obvious that you’re only avoiding the things you don’t want to do. And, that’s not a strong foundation.

The foundation must be based upon a combination of your job responsibilities, the company’s goals and your personal priorities outside of work.

1. Make Yourself and Your Family A Priority

Nobody was on their deathbed wishing that they had worked more in life - that’s a fact. So, you need to ask yourself if working those extra long hours into the late night and weekends is really worth it.

Yes, there will always be the occasional fires you need to put out at work that will require you to put in some extra effort. And of course, some of the more important projects may need you to keep grinding on longer than usual.

However, these should only be on a limited exception basis and not the norm.

We all have a limited number of hours in the day and we spent the large majority of our waking hours at the office. What little time remains outside of work is a precious commodity.

How do you want to spend these hours?

Working more at the office on problems that will still be there the next day?

Or, hanging out with friends and/or family and enjoying the simple things in life?

When it comes to making a decision between working more or longer versus having more me-time or family time, don’t debate about it. The answer is clear. Go with a more balanced approach and dedicate the time to yourself and those you love.

You don’t have any fucks to give about your job once you clock out and disconnect from work at the end of the day.

2. Focus Only On Top Work Priorities

You have limited time and resources at work. And as much as you try to juggle multiple projects and tasks, you’ll never get ahead on the things that count. You’ll just be hopping frantically from one task to another without making any real progress on the important stuff.

You can do more with less stress by mono-tasking on priorities instead.

Review all of your projects with your manager and force a prioritization. This prioritization should be in alignment with the company objectives for that month, quarter or year.

Get in the zone and focus only on the top priorities and ignore the others, especially the ones that aren’t even on the list to begin with. Those are definitely the ones you don’t have to give a fuck about.

When you do this, you’ll be keeping your momentum and making progress on the most important things at work. And at the end of the day, when you look back at what you accomplished, it’ll feel really satisfying.

3. Learn To Say No And Set Boundaries

It’s way too easy to be the nice guy and take on any and all requests at work. After all, you want to be seen as a supportive team player.

The problem is that you can’t do this. You’ll spread yourself thin, overwork yourself and make managing work stress nearly impossible. Plus, you’ll start developing a reputation as someone who’ll do any task that’s asked of them.

Other coworkers are always trying to get you to give a fuck about their priorities. They don’t really care about yours.

You’ve gotta set solid boundaries and learn to say no in a tactful but clear way. You can’t leave any margin for others to think that you’ll be doing their task as a priority, unless it really is for you.

Be crystal clear and state that you can’t support their request or task until you’ve gotten your main tasks done first. And if these PITA coworker’s request isn’t part of your job responsibilities and not in line with your objectives, then drop it and move on.

When you act consistently and others see and understand your roles and responsibilities, you’ll be that much more productive because you won’t be giving a fuck about the other bullshit that doesn’t matter.

4. Be Ultra Selective About What To Give A Fuck About

You only have a limited amount of fucks to give in life. Don’t waste them on bullshit things.

Do you really want to give a fuck about office politics?

Or, use one up for that asshole driver on your commute?

Or, getting all pissed off at some random social media posting during your cyberloafing session?

Nope to all.

Each and every one of your fucks is valuable and should only be used for the things that really matter in your life.

Mark Manson, the author of the book “The Subtle Art Of Not Giving A Fuck,” lays out it clearly in this 8-minute summary video below.

VIDEO: How To Stop Giving A Fuck
YOUTUBE: Word Porn
LENGTH: 8:00
Summary points:
  • You have a limited amount of fucks to give in life
  • Focus on the most important things in life
  • Struggle is part of the growth path to happiness
You already know what the most important things in your life are. They're pretty obvious.

It’s your happiness, health and wellbeing, your family and your closest friends.

These are the things in your life that you should and need to give a fuck about. For everything else that is less important, don’t give a fuck about it. Save it for the shit that really matters.

5. Stand Up For Yourself Dammit

There have been times when you knew you were right and that the other person was flat-out wrong. You had the proof, the data, the report, whatever and yet, you couldn’t muster up the courage to stand up for yourself.

You can’t let this happen.

When you know for sure that you’re correct and have the data and evidence to prove that, you need to speak up like you don’t give a fuck (subtly of course).

You don’t want to throw them under the bus, but you need to hold your ground and let them know that you have information that proves otherwise.

It’s much easier to have this confidence when you’ve got the information to back up your statement. And it’s this confidence that helps you be like Sam from finance.

Be confident in yourself, share your thoughts and opinions and when you know you’re right, say so and stand up for yourself. Start out small and work your way up.

You will never be fired for expressing your opinion and standing your ground when you know you’re right.

When you start doing this, people will start noticing and your personal brand at work will start rising. And soon enough, you’ll start getting the recognition you fucking deserve.

Be Smart About Not Giving A Fuck And You’ll Be Happier

Having an attitude of not giving a fuck at work can work for you - if you’re smart about it.

Simplify, prioritize and laser-focus your job goals and objectives to what matters most for your career advancement and company’s goals.

Then, balance that accordingly with what’s most important in your life outside of work. Focusing only on what’s most important for your work, your life and your family will ensure that you’re only giving a fuck to the shit that really matters.

And then for all the other bullshit outside of that - well, you won’t have any more fucks to give.

Feel Better,
[Cubicle|Therapy]

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