"I am Katya, and I am a workaholic": how much to work and not burn out

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

To suffer or not to suffer from constant workload is your personal choice.

I am Katya and I am a workaholic. I sit down at the monitor at eight in the morning and finish at 12 at night. Before going to bed, instead of women's novels and books about self-development, I read new laws and check analytics on online stores. I don’t go to parent-teacher meetings, I don’t take my children to sections, and I don’t cook dinner every day. Not because laziness, but because there is no time.

It seems that I have a hard life, I dedicated it to work and nothing else happens in it. That I have deprived myself of the usual human joys, scored on my loved ones and am chasing the number of published texts. Sooner or later I will get tired, disappointed in my work, burn out, or regret the lost years. Sometimes they give me advice on what to do to prevent this from happening. I love advice from people who are guided by themselves and their lives. As if everyone else should live the same way, and whoever does not live like that supposedly makes a mistake.

Working hard doesn't mean suffering, and here's why.

I wanted it so myself

Nobody forces me to work hard. I have a house, a car, everything I need and no mortgage. I don't need to help my parents yet: they are still young and work themselves.

I work so much because I want to. If I get bored, I will stop.

I like it

I don't really like to travel. The road takes more energy from me than work and lack of sleep. My brain doesn’t rest during walks or sports, because that’s how it is. At night, I may dream about tax debriefing. It does not bother me. It’s a real pleasure for me to figure out a difficult issue (and this is not necessarily an article in "TZ"). About the same as many people from contemplating landscapes and visiting exhibitions.

I've always worked hard

I have been working since I was 18. Now I am 35. I have never had such a position that I left the office at six and could forget about work. This does not happen with chief accountants. When I took up texts and websites, I hired people and got involved in other people's projects - even more so. It's okay for me to work hard, and "T-J" has nothing to do with it. It was the same before him. And without "T-Z" it will be so, if only health allows.

My family is not neglected

We work with my husband. For over 10 years we have been there for 24 hours a day. We have common projects, and there is enough communication above the roof. We have an office where you can work separately from each other. In most families, the opposite is true: the spouses meet after work. We do not part.

They support me

If I don't have time to cook dinner, my husband will eat cottage cheese or drink protein. If you haven't ironed your shirt, you will iron it yourself. And he works hard too. But he does not reproach me for writing something from morning till night and not going to sleep until I have submitted the article.

He was admitted to the hospital last week for emergency surgery. Yes, I was torn between work, kindergarten, child's gym and him. But he always had a hot broth, which I cooked and brought. And in "T-Zh" articles were published all the same.

The priorities are right. Working hard does not mean leaving your loved ones behind. You just have to ask what they think about it.

I have my own view of motherhood

I have two sons. I go to their matinees and important competitions, but I don't go to school meetings. Because I don't want to, not because work strangled me. And also because my mom is my son's homeroom teacher, hehe.

I physically hate discussions about where to take the children for the New Year and what color to choose the blinds in the classroom. I will rent for all the money and agree in advance with any activities. But spare me the school chats.

I treat the children when they are sick, put them to bed and help with their lessons. But I'm not talking about wuxi-pusi-my kid. I have never painted with them with finger paints and have not learned letters since I was two.

I pay for programming for senior and English for junior. But I can't sculpt with them from plasticine in the evenings. And I don’t want to. Forgive me, good moms.

Recently my son had a toothache. Yes, I didn't know if he was dairy or indigenous. Yes, I do not remember which teeth fell out. I took him to the best clinic in the city, and they sorted it out. And I think this is better than holding a frightened child by the hand in a free hospital, where they are treated without normal anesthesia. Because “I'm sick and ready to spend three hours on a ticket and queues. Let the work wait. But we are side by side, and all our teeth are kept by the tooth fairy”. We swam - we know.

My time is precious

A good housewife washes the windows every quarter, prepares three courses of meals and starch the linens. For general cleaning in the kitchen, I will call a cleaner, my husband will have lunch in a cafe, and I will stroke when I want. Or I will not stroke if there is no time. And my conscience will not torment me.

If I work instead of washing windows, I do not burn at work during this time. And I do what I'm good at, what I get paid for and what I like.

I like independence

I was not on maternity leave, and in 17 years there was not a single month that I myself did not earn enough for a normal life. It is important for me to be independent, to receive well and not to depend on anyone. My younger sisters are on maternity leave for three years with each child. They like it, it's their choice - I respect him. And mine is like that, and he is voluntary.

I rest the way I like, not how "right"

I can work from home, juggle article writing with a face mask, check the layout of the news while sitting in a restaurant, and discuss a new project on the way to the supermarket. I, like all normal people, go to a cafe, watch a movie, find time for coffee in the morning and a beautician. Yes, during eyelash extensions, I listen to a webinar on procedural documents instead of music. Yes, while I'm getting my nails done, I can read the prints of the laws. Because it's more interesting to me.

Figuring does not mean sitting in a dressing gown, not taking your fingers off the keyboard, forgetting about loved ones and the joys of life. Not traveling twice a year abroad with your phone turned off does not mean depriving yourself of the main pleasures. And a lot of work does not mean burn out and pull the strap.

I know of many examples of people relaxing while going out in the countryside, writing music tracks, going to exhibitions, doing yoga or traveling. This is wonderful, correct, and all this is an example for someone to follow. But there can be no universal advice here. I do not relax from trips to nature.

My recipe for burnout at work is to be honest with yourself.

I stopped looking up to others and feeling guilty about unvisited countries and unread children's stories. I admitted that I enjoy my work and this is a component of my happiness.

Do as you like. Like this to me.