My life is my work.. my work is my life..
Two sentences that sound so similar and yet they contradict themselves..
To the readers of this article i have to give a warning.. this is not a business article..
Yet it is about work, but it’s more about life..
What do we do in our lives.. adult life consists of work, and family and love..
Sure it is.. for some.. please raise your hands, whoever enjoys life out of their workplace.. ok ok, i didn’t mean literally raise your hands.. and please stop smiling, this is serious..
I bet all of you who raised their hands in confidence that you live your life to excess despite the load of working hours you do each week, most of you are on a Mon- Fri schedule with Saturday your party day and Sunday your relax time.. Kudos! And yes this is actually a greek word.. but anyway, the rest are the ‘unfortunate’ ones with a shift pattern schedule, which is in a constant change.. i know as I am one of them. These ones actually get all sorts of days off, so they probably end up preferring to work than spending a day off alone as the rest of their friends are working.
But honestly, it doesn’t matter which pattern you follow, but what you actually do with it.. and i’m not talking about the one-two-maybe-three days off you have but during the time you work..
Obviously, you work. But do you work, or overwork yourself.. do you find yourself ending up alone in an office, always thinking that you may achieve more work in that extra unpaid hour that you will spend there.. you’re even luckier if that’s paid, and yes i envy you for that..
For you that you have a partner at home, a dog, a friend waiting for you for a beer or coffee or a walk.. is that one hour so important that you decide to sacrifice your leisure time over work? For the rest who don’t, is that one hour again so important that you choose it over all the other stuff that you could possibly do instead?
Indeed, some would say, ‘maybe you don’t organise your time well’.. or, ‘you get extra work that you shouldn’t’.. no no no, i know exactly the audience i’m refering to.. those who have dedicated their soul to their work. Those who have put work over their own lives, who go to sleep at 2am and wake up at 6am in order to start the ‘boring’ everyday things they have to do before they go to work, you know, put laundry, iron clothes, feed the dog, and oh yes, eat.
And i tell you all these because i am almost one of them. I am a professional, i do my job to the best of my skills and knowledge, but at the end of the day, i strive to get out of work even half an hour earlier. Just to make sure that some of you won’t say, ‘sure you know better’.. let me tell you that i don’t.. but i surely would sacrifice that extra hour and leave work earlier to grab a beer with my friends, socialise with other people, or even spend my evening cooking myself a nice dinner..
The point of this article is one.. don’t think that work will always be with you, one day you will retire.. a partner, a friend, people who care for you, they don’t retire.. work is work, you make a living, everyone respects that.. but make sure that spare minute you can get.. choose well how you will invest and spend it..
Yours Truly,
Vic