You know how people have their work email and Teams on their phones and then see work messages all the time? I don’t get paid enough to do that kind of damage to myself.
Even though I work at home – especially because I work at home – I keep my work walled into work time. Here’s why:
I value my time. My company pays me an excellent wage for a big chunk of my time and energy, but they don’t pay me for all of it. If I give my time away and work for free, it devalues me and my work.
I value my company. My company pays me to be creative on demand. Doing that well is hard, mentally-tiring work. After a day’s work, my brain needs rest. It needs to do other things. If I’m dribbling work stuff into my head during the time I’m not working, I won’t turn off. I won’t be fully rested. I won’t be fresh the next day. I won’t bring my best self to work. By doing work stuff outside of work time, I’m cheating my company of the productivity and creativity they are paying me for.
I feel strongly about separating work and not work because a long time ago, I was self-employed and I didn’t build a wall between work and not work. I came dangerously close to a grim burnout as a result.
If Indeed’s study is accurate, over half the employed people reading this are experiencing some level of burnout.
Build that wall!
Gerard pretends he’s exercising. He’s really trying to see what the neighbours get up to in their back garden.
Kae Tempest’s latest album is excellent. (Spotify)
Grow slowly
Jeff
Wow. I could “watch” that song all day! Brilliant sentiment and concept.