How can I inject some fun back into my life?

charlies-aunt

My sympathies - your sub conscious mind is desperately trying to tell you that its madness to live life like this - the only time you can listen to your internal thoughts is when you are asleep because your waking hours are crammed with the external stress and pressures.

The pressure to perform at work forces you to keep going and going and going . . . . . . . . but its important for your health and wellbeing to make changes because when the day dawns when, through mental or physical burnout, you can no longer keep up the pace . . . . . the company that you work for will simply replace you.

No job ever pays enough to sacrifice your health for and no-one is irreplaceable. If you are prepared to do it- the company will let you carry on - they are only interested in getting the job done, they don't care about you.

Sorry to be harsh but Companies are in it to make a profit -if you have a mental breakdown - it will fleetingly affect them for a few days until your replacement drone fills your shoes. You and your contribution will be ancient history - but you will suffer the effects of working to exhaustion for the rest of your life.

We only get to live this life once - now is the time perhaps to choose to make a change happen - before an uncontrollable change such as a stroke, mental or physical breakdown forces you to dramatically rethink your life?

hazyjo

I get peed off at working 9am-6pm, with an hour's commute each way door to door. I'm nearly out of my house for half of the hours in every day, Mon-Fri. It's just too much. At 43, I am finding it harder and harder and end up using loads of half days towards the end of the year just to get through a whole week.

I've seen some of the lawyers at my place re-train and leave. Someone left to be a teacher not long back. Their life is their work. Their social live is work too! Networking, or out at work drinks. Several are dating/married to people they work with or people who used to work here. It's all they seem to know!

As soon as I think I can afford it, I'm going to ask about doing a four and a half day week. In your shoes, I guess it's now or never. Either you move jobs (likely to be the same problem in any job though as the role will always involve long hours), weigh it all up and think about downsizing/moving out and taking a local job, or you put up with it for the next 20 years or so.

We were horrified nearly a year ago when they said a secretary was going to be made redundant. I was buying a house at the time! My initial thought was please someone volunteer so nobody gets the boot, then I wondered if it was doable (in my shoes). I could buy a cheap house on the coast, or somewhere like Suffolk, get a local job... but because the decision was thrust upon us, I wasn't brave enough to make that leap or life-changing plans. I'd have to have a new home, new job, etc. But it did cross my mind and, once it had, the thought really wasn't so scary or preposterous.

Weigh it up. Think about where you'd like to be when you do retire, and work out if there's a way of getting half way there now!

Jx

itsanne

hazyjo wrote: »

Someone left to be a teacher not long back.
Jx

For a better work life balance? :rotfl::rotfl:
Good luck with that one!

However, I do agree with those who are warning about the need to cut back.

bylromarha

I too work long hours.

I also train new people into my profession.

One of their first targets is to have 1 night off a week where they are not permitted to do any work at home.

How about starting small and committing yourself to one night of treats a week? Model night at the local college for a cheap pamper/haircut? Find out what local exercise classes/choirs are in the area so if you don't have a crisis to deal with at work, you know exactly where to head to on which night.

Work to live, not live to work.