Are you Addicted to Work?

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I once became addicted to work. It was actually during my early period in a corporate world. I came to a point when work becomes almost my life.   Then it made me realize that staying in office 'too much' longer caused me to miss out a lot of things.

How many of us here who do too much? Who spend all of his time taking care of others? Or those who were so defined by his work that we’re consumed by it and can’t let go. As I have mentioned, I once was addicted to work but over the past year, I've learned to slow down and make some changes. Here's my piece of advice:

• Set boundaries. If you’ve missed your favorite cousins wedding or said "no" too many times to your best friend’s dinner parties, you could alienate yourself from your friends and family. It may return on you. Give yourself a time frame as when to end work. It not only helps you organize your day, but you are likely to be productive at something else, after work.

• Quality vs. quantity. Use every minute efficiently. Sometimes, we seem to need longer hours simply because we don’t give ourselves the opportunity to sit down, focus and do a large amount of work in one sitting. My work before is from 7am-4pm yet I used to stay at work  until ten pm. And I realized that all I had done for the whole day was cubicle-hop, facebooking, chatting ^^. Use your hours to help you :). 


• Keep fresh. According to some book and articles I've read ideas need to incubate for a time. We need time off from doing or creating something so we can go back and see the work in a new light. Don’t take too much work home with you nevertheless don't take work home :p. Sometimes, you approach things fresher the next day. Believe me :) 


• The Superwoman/Superman Syndrome. Admit to yourself that you cannot do everything yourself, and neither can anybody else. Ask for help, delegate, and instead of making things happen, just let things unfold! 


• Less is more. Actually cutting down on work can have benefits. Doing other activities and being with a different set of people can give us new perspectives—and ultimately, improve the quality of our work.

Everything is a process. It will surely take some time and a lot of adjustment. But once you're ok, you'll surely love your work more! Good luck!