The fine line between loving work and living for it
How do we stop work from consuming us when we love it?
Hi friends,
How are you doing? I am writing this from an impossibly trendy hotel/members club north of London feeling relaxed, rejuvenated and, honestly, pretty inspired. I’m four days into 11 days away from work, a break I felt in need of following a few months of full-on work getting the first season of the Happiful podcast ready. And I guess that’s what I want to write about today, the shift I’ve felt of work bleeding into all areas of my life the last few months (and how I’m managing it).
Since closing down my coaching business, I’ve had a surge of energy and enjoyment for Happiful work - perhaps unsurprisingly, as I can now give it my full focus. Despite this surge, I’ve always prided myself on my work-life balance skills, being pretty good at pushing work out of my mind when I close the laptop until the next work day.
After getting the go-ahead on the podcast however, this started to change. Thoughts of work started nudging me at the weekends, in the evenings and, most of all, when trying to fall asleep. I was loving work more than ever and perhaps because of this my brain wanted to dedicate more thinking time to it. When I was working, I gave it everything I had, often ending the day with a headache and an inability to hold conversation.
As described in my post on craving balance, this was probably exacerbated by full weekends and little time for rest. Things came to a head in August when I was feeling some familiar burnout symptoms, cue a weekend of nothing to help me recover and the hasty booking of this break.
Now I’m in the break, I feel I have enough distance to reflect. I know how incredibly lucky I am to do a job I love, but that doesn’t mean it’s stress-free and it doesn’t mean that it doesn’t have the power to consume me. I can love work without living to work. Admitting this duality seems obvious, but something that perhaps I needed reminding of.
Something else I’ve recognised is that this season of work has been exactly that - a season. Creating a new podcast from scratch is a big undertaking, so it’s not surprising I had a few months of harder-than-usual work getting it ready for release. This won’t always be the case. Future seasons will have a base to work from and the more experience I gain, the quicker and more confident I am in the process. Now the first season is almost completely recorded (just one more episode to go) I’m already feeling a release of pressure.
These two realisations will hopefully put me in good stead the next time a busy period begins (did someone say season two planning?), but there are some other practices I’m putting into place to help my love for work to remain contained in my working hours.
Remembering basic self-care habits that support me; meditation, movement, reading.
Maintaining a balance outside of work, leaving space for relaxation/downtime alongside socialising.
Cultivating a non-work related creative practice (after watching Past Lives at the cinema recently where the lead character is a writer, I’ve felt inspired to write creatively again so I’m planning on signing up to this short-story course).
Joining Sasha’s offering to keep me accountable for creativity and reflection.
Simple in theory, but likely complex in practice. Having it written down helps, in fact, I may write this on a post-it and stick it on my desk as a reminder. When we’re in the thick of things, it’s easy to forget the promises we make ourselves, right? It’s taken me booking a week off to even get the space to reflect, but hey, I got there in the end.
Consider this a prompt for yourself, if you need the same reminder. What practices can you put into place to keep your love of work contained?
OK, that's enough pondering for today. The rest of my day here is gloriously empty, apart from a dinner reservation at seven. I hope you have some emptiness in your schedule soon and I’ll be in touch.
Until then, take care.
Kat x
Sometimes the only way we can see the bigger picture, get a different perspective, is to step out of the usual routine, out of the work. In fact, not being able to see other perspectives is a sign you need that break. Glad you’re taking a chunk of time for yourself.
Pleased your break has given you some distance, and the time and space to reflect on what nourished you. I’m trying to pay closer attention to myself, to notice when I need relaxation (or just time away from my creative brain) vs action ✨