There’s a difference between being a hard worker and a workaholic. Hard workers bring a lot of passion, creativity and dedication to their job when they’re working, but they don’t let it consume their entire life. Workaholics let work take precedence over everything else in their lives such as friends, family and their own personal mental and physical health. You may be a workaholic if you work long hours, cancel social plans to do work, only talk about work when you do go out with friends and family and bring your work home. Stop the workaholic habits now so you can start to enjoy your life more.
The first thing you need to do to break the workaholic cycle is to set boundaries. Set up strict hours that you can only do work such as 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Stay committed to this schedule to avoid overworking. Don’t do any work beyond your set hours. To make this work more efficiently, don’t bring your laptop home; leave it in the office. Lessen your workload by delegating work to other people. You need to finally start saying no when someone asks you to do something instead of always saying yes. You must accept that you can only have so much on your plate. When someone asks you to do something and you realize you already have enough to do, suggest passing on the work to someone else.
Make another boundary by keeping everything work-related in the office. This means no talking about work when you’re out with friends and family. Make an effort to listen to what they have to say and engage in conversations that aren’t related to work like the latest movie that came out or sports. Social times are times to relieve ourselves of the stresses of work, not to rehash them again.
You may find yourself having nothing to say to your friends and family that isn’t work related since you’ve spent most of your time working. You may also find yourself with nothing to do at home after work if you can’t continue working. This is where picking up a hobby comes in. Hobbies are great ways to express and enjoy your time alone. Taking part in your hobby can help relax you, especially if it’s yoga or jogging. You can also jog your creativity with reading a novel. Avoid finding a hobby that is work related. Talk to your friends because they may be involved in an activity you can take part in that will offer you the chance to spend time with others outside of the office.
Take care of your health. Workaholics suffer from sleep deprivation and unhealthy eating habits. Eat healthy foods and exercise. Go to bed early to get a restful sleep .You’ll find that you are feeling more energized and alert. You’ll be more productive during your hours at work, and you’ll probably get more done and be more efficient than before.
Make time for those important people in your life like family and friends. You’ve been neglecting them by working, and if you did hang out with them you weren’t really present because you’d always be thinking about work. Once you’ve lessened your workload to a manageable level and cut down your hours, you’ll have plenty of time to be there for the people that matter the most so you can work on creating strong relationships. In the end, it’s these relationships that matter the most.
SOURCE: Monthly Experiments
IMAGE: Courtesy of Media Junkie
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