You love to work. What’s wrong with that?
You haven’t had a day off in months, and you’re plugged in all the time.
You know noone can get things done as well as you can. And it’s faster just to do it yourself.
You’re starting to wonder why everyone keeps telling you to take a break to take care of yourself. But to you, a day at the spa represents a rare form of torture.
What’s wrong with working all the time? There’ll be time later to rest.
The problem is, there’s an extreme for anything.
Work is one of the most socially acceptable ways to distract you from dealing with difficult feelings or life decisions. Coaching can uncover why, and then help you find meaning in your professional life without being burned out.
How do you know if you are over-working? Ask yourself:
Are you leaving vacation days on the table? Or even worse, are you cancelling vacation because you’re so worried about work?
Are you anxious when you’re unplugged for more than a few hours?
Are you responding to e-mails right away, no matter what day or time they arrive?
Do you get a spark of dread every time you see a work e-mail or text, thinking it’s about something you left undone?
Do you go around feeling like a wolf is nipping at your heels, imagining you might be critiqued for what you did . . . or didn’t do?
Does everything you do have to be perfect all the time? And are you imposing that standard on your team?
If you answered yes to any of the questions above, you should rethink your relationship with your work.
While having a good work ethic can help you accomplish a lot, you can take it too far. If your job is encroaching on your most important relationships, or if it blocks you from focusing on what means the most to you, you should reevaluate what purpose work is serving.
Could it be that making sure it all gets done is a way to avoid taking a close look at yourself and your priorities?
Are you getting what you want from your career? Or are you so busy making sure you make others look good that you don’t even let yourself get to know your own ambitions and vision.
Do you even know what you want for yourself?
Coaching Can Help
I work with high-achieving executives to identify the signs of using work to distract yourself, or to justify not pursuing what you truly desire.
You may think the problem is your job, your boss, or that it’s busy season. Yes, we all see peaks and valleys in our work, but it’s important to identify the real root of what is making you run a mile a minute and feel like you’re getting nowhere.
We start with YOU, looking at your mindset and whether your professional life is energizing you, or if it’s depleting you and getting in the way of your finding joy in life. Contact me for a free 30-minute consultation call to see if coaching is right for you.