Many people live in a “home-work-home” rhythm, and for some, work doesn’t end even at home. Think back: perhaps you happened to answer calls from the office or urgent emails over a family dinner? Or maybe you stopped playing casino slots online for real money after receiving a message from your boss on a Sunday night? If these situations recur frequently, they are devastating. The logical result of constant overwork is professional burnout. How not to overwork and still be productive? And why should people work and get pleasure from it, but not stress?
How to Understand That You Are a Workaholic
Here’s a list of symptoms that signal possible workaholism:
- Perfectionism, unrealistic demands on yourself and your colleagues: for example, if you completely redo a presentation just because some slides don’t match the background shade.
- Sickening experience of professional failures and failures: when a failed negotiation or a failed deal is perceived as the end of the world.
- Regular overtime, which seems to be the norm: for example, if you sit in the office from eight to eight.
- Willingness to sacrifice other areas of life for work: say, if you put off a doctor’s appointment or miss your daughter’s graduation because of some urgent task.
- Inexplicable anxiety during vacations, a constant feeling of “phantom deadline”: when lying in the sun by the pool, you are not relaxing, but worrying about coordinating documents.
Any one item on the list is a serious reason to be wary. Workaholics need approval and support and perceive high professional performance as a recognition of value. You should recognize this as a problem and try to work it out, either on your own or with a psychologist.
Three Important Questions
Do a self-diagnosis. This isn’t difficult. Ask yourself, for example, three of these questions to figure out why you benefit from working hard:
- Because I need more money?
- Because I don’t have interesting things to do besides work?
- Because I’m looking for recognition and approval and I only get it at work?
The list isn’t exhaustive, and there are quite a few personal reasons for overworking. But if the answer is “yes” in at least one case, you don’t think it’s workaholism.
When one has a meaningful goal (like buying an apartment or moving to a bigger city), it’s okay to overwork for a while. But increased workloads that last for years or even decades will do nothing but harm in the long run.
5 Steps to Getting Rid of Workaholism
Separate the Work Space From the Place to Rest
It doesn’t matter whether in the office or at home – all conditions should be created for work. A comfortable desk, sufficient light, necessary tools at hand. In these conditions, it’s easier to observe the regime of work and rest.
Plan the Time
The standard workday is eight hours. This is the basis for the allocation of your time. Make time management part of your daily life. If the tasks that need to be done in a day require more time, then the plan needs to be adjusted. Perhaps some of these tasks should be delegated, that is, transferred to others – enough working for two. By the way, rest and different kinds of non-work activities (like going to the theater or even walking) also need to be included in the plan.
Prioritize
Unpleasant and difficult tasks are better to do in the first place. They consume the most time and energy. After you cope with the most difficult task, you can finish the rest more quickly. If the task is large, you should divide it into parts and gradually resolve subtasks one by one.
Take Breaks
A man isn’t a robot, he physically cannot be equally efficient during the whole day. Take a break every 2 hours – drink coffee, do a couple of exercises, go for a walk, and chat with colleagues or call home.
Leave the Work stuff at Work
For the workaholic, this will be the most difficult task. But a lot depends on its responsible execution. Once the work day is over – it’s really over. Try to avoid urgent meetings in the evenings and weekend calls.
