Tuesday, February 08, 2011

Last Saturday I decided that I'm not going to bring work home anymore, or check my work email from home. I can't do it anymore. My job is/was becoming all consuming to the point where I started to lose sleep at night  and that's not what I want in my life.

It's a weird balance though that I constantly struggle with because I care about helping run the store, but it can easily become all consuming if I let it. Whenever I meet db at the skytrain after work (he picks me up there on his way home), I get into the car and talk about work until I get it out of my system. It also helps me to work through any problems that I need to resolve, and I can usually get a better grasp on something if I talk it through in the car. Once I talk about work to him, I can somewhat let it go for the rest of the day, but it's always tempting to turn on the computer and check the email, or revise a document that needs to get done.

I haven't been this absorbed by anything since I was in grad school. I think I'd rather be writing a thesis and absorbed by that rather than this never ending list of tasks that I need to get done.

2 comments:

redjane Stephanie Belding said...

It's really hard, trying to find a balance, in a job like yours. You're integral to the functioning of the business but you're so smart to put up boundaries and let others recognize that work is to be done during work hours. I know it must be a struggle, because of your phenomenal work ethic, but good for yo for making that switch.

S.M. Elliott said...

Good for you; everyone needs some truly free time to be productive. Going full-speed 24/7 and burning out is no way to go.