Achieving your goals and ambitions does not mean you have to spend every waking minute working. And in fact doing so is more likely to gain you a burn-out rather than success. The following are 7 signs that you need to re-evaluate your work habits and start working smarter instead of harder.
While most of us have professional goals and ambitions, the way we go about achieving them differs greatly. For many, the drive to succeed leads them to work long hours, lose sleep, and generally neglect their personal life. Others achieve success by prioritizing, delegating and organization. So, which type of achiever are you? If you suffer from any combination of the following symptoms, you just might be the former, otherwise known as a "workaholic".
1. You work evenings and week-ends in addition to your regular work hours. Determine what impact these extra hours are having on your family life, and decide whether it is really worthwhile for you to be missing out on family and friends.
2. You seldom take vacation and when you do, you work. Everyone needs some time off to recuperate and refresh their mind. In fact most of us work better following a vacation because we feel less stressed and more focussed upon our return.
3. Your thoughts are consumed with work. You can't make it through a school play, or an evening out with friends without checking your email, voicemail or blackberry.
4. You are missing out on the lives of your family and friends. Do you know the name of your child's much-loved teddy-bear, or your spouse's favourite book or television show? When was the last time you had dinner with your best-friend?
5. You don't have any time to relax. When was the last time you took a bubble bath, read a book, or went to a movie? Without taking time for yourself on a regular basis, all you are sure to achieve is burn-out.
6. Relaxing stresses you out. When you do decide to read a book, or see a movie, you find you can't relax because you feel that you should be working.
7. You are having family troubles because of your persistent absences. If your spouse or children resent you because you aren't around, it is time to make some changes.
Workaholics are in reality not more likely to achieve success. They are in actuality much more likely to reach burn-out status before that happens. In fact, experts agree that the vast majority of successful individuals are not workaholics, but that they have learned how to prioritize and delegate. If you are a Workaholic, it's not too late to change. Letting go of some of your lower priority tasks does not mean the end of your work-related ambitions and in fact may just help you to attain the goals that you have been striving to realize.
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