How I Tried To Stop Being A Workaholic

Once a friend of mine told me to start a challenge ― something like how I decided to stop being a workaholic and failed. One ex-colleague, watching me at work, exclaimed, "Why are you working so hard? Work is just part of our life, forget about it, do enough so that you don't get fired." And a comment from another colleague: "Don't you have any other interests besides work?"

I've already written the Ode to Laziness here. You might think that article contradicts this one. Perhaps you're right. Let's try to figure it out. Or maybe these are just different poles of the same problem. In other words, laziness and workaholism correlate with each other as anorexia and bulimia.

I realized early that I am a very lazy person. If I don't want to do something, I literally can't bring myself to do it. Few people know about this, because at the same time I am also a workaholic. One day the thought occurred to me that I would starve to death if I didn’t love my job.

Yes, I just love what I do. Or I’ll say it differently. Everything I do, I really like it. I read avidly, work and immerse myself in work so that I forget everything in the world. And when I am with friends or traveling, I don’t think about work at all, I don’t check my inbox and enjoy the moment.

Anything I don't like ― I ignore. It just doesn't exist. For example, I hate cooking and I don't cook. I am fortunate that men cook in my family. But if I was not so lucky, then I would be a raw foodist or eat only in restaurants. Probably would be very slim :)

I can’t force myself to do something that I don’t like. If I don’t like something, I’ll find a way not to do it ― refuse, delegate, whatever. Also with the opposite. If there is something I like, I will do it whatever it takes.

However, under pressure from others and for the sake of experiment, I decided it was time to balance my life. What did I do and what has become of it?

1 Work is important, but not the only part of life

I thought on paper what else was important to me besides work and how much time I devote to those other parts of my life. In general, I have a versatile life, but sometimes there is imbalance. It is important to take pauses more often, reflect and make adjustments. For example, I've added rest as part of my life. If you love your job, then you must love relaxation. To work consistently efficiently, a person must be rested, healthy and happy.

2 Life planning

Of course, not all people are planning maniacs like me. But I would recommend at least short-term planning, it helps me a lot. I set myself goals for 9 weeks. I choose 3-4 areas in my life and write what I want to achieve in each of them in 9 weeks. This planning method helps you realize in time that something is going in the wrong direction. In the worst case, all you risk is 9 weeks. And this is better than all life.

3 Boundaries

Clear priorities (point number 1) and a plan (point number 2) help to set boundaries and say no to people, activities and in general everything else that does not fit in and can create an imbalance. Many people find it difficult to say no to someone or something, but when you know what is important, it becomes much easier.

4 No perfectionism!

I'm still learning how stop striving for perfectionism. The world is not perfect. I cannot control everything. And there is nothing wrong with that. It's OK. Meeting deadline with good results is more important than great work which will require a disproportionate amount of time and resources. The main thing is the stability of the result; if the work takes too long, you are doing something wrong.

5 Teamwork makes the dream work

I have always been of the opinion that if you want to do something well, do it yourself. But it often takes a team to do really cool things. The sooner you understand this, the faster your career will develop. It took me too long to learn to trust my colleagues. To do it right, you need to find a balance between letting go of the situation and keeping your eyes on the ball. First of all I decided to relax and not to control the work of my colleagues. They are also professionals, aren't they? In the worst case, if something goes wrong, it will be a lesson for everyone. How else can people learn if not from mistakes? And the second is to understand the difference between letting go of the situation and not giving a damn. If you let go of something, it doesn't mean that you don't care. The main thing is to make it clear to the team that you trust them, but you are open and available if your help is needed.

?6 Change gear

You need to understand the reason of your workaholism. If you just enjoy your work and are constantly in the flow, then I believe that there is nothing wrong with that. However, if you expect to be promoted or get a raise just because of hard work, then you are wrong. If your goal is promotion, then it is important not only to work hard, but also to actively promote your successes and ideas within the company and work on your visibility.

Overall, it was surprisingly a very rewarding exercise, but I haven't stopped loving my job or spending much less time on it. Nevertheless, I am glad that I listened to the feedback and decided to work on myself. As a result, I balanced my life a bit and made it more fulfilling.