Lately it seems my life has been a blur. And by lately, I mean pretty much all of 2010. It has been a grueling time balancing full-time school, part-time freelance work, and trying to have a social life. And while I have succeeded on the former, I have failed on the latter.
As I take stock on my friendships and the people in my life I realize that I have been such a workaholic this year that I have severely neglected numerous friends and fun-filled opportunities. I have managed to get out some but haven’t made the best efforts in this regard. And the truth is? Well I feel entirely guilty about it. There are so many wonderful and amazing people that I want to spend time with and have fun with just hanging out, but I have not. I have been a dutiful student and diligent worker, but that makes a dull Charlie.
Perhaps I am being melodramatic this weekend because I have work to do and deadlines to meet that has left me staying in all weekend. How quickly I forgot how fancy and free I felt shopping Wednesday afternoon while everyone else was shut in their offices. It’s just that as I look back I think of how many times I have had to turn down offers from friends on account of too much work. And tonight, I did it again, twice in fact. But if I hadn’t turned it down, I would be a total bore to be with. I would be thinking of all the things that I could be getting accomplished instead of just enjoying the time out.
What’s that I hear? Take a vacation already? Yeah I think I would still bring my work with me as I inevitably do. I can’t recall the last vacation that I have taken without managing to bring and actually complete at least one days worth of work. Some would say that I am a workaholic. And now I would tend to agree. Given that both my mother and stepfather are workaholics is safe to assume that they would mold another to add to the roster.
I think I need to embrace my workaholism just a little bit, maybe even own it, and then perhaps I will get over it. I could pick up a hobby, like yoga, or indoor rock climbing with all that free time. But I might just get competitive about it, because that is just what a workaholic is like.
I find it so easy to fall into the trap of workaholism. Projects keep coming and I get excited and keep committing to them…But unfortunately that has led to serious neglect of my friends and family. Last month (during a much needed vacation) I made a vow to myself that I will try to incorporate more balance into my life. Since then I've resisted many tempting work projects which I
I really do know that I need to create a better, more healthy balance in my lifestyle. But then as soon as I am about to … something else comes up and my excitement and enthusiasm always win me over. I do need to learn to say no more often. I am "working on it" …