I am happily trying to recover from an addiction to working. I don't work on weekends anymore, and rarely work in the evenings. Today is the second of four Fridays that I have booked myself off of work. I want to use the time to write, but it's also a training program for me and for my fourteen-person staff. We all need to learn that our business can actually survive without me for a twenty-four hour period every so often. Can't it?
I'm doing better than usual, but I have a long way to go. Today, I haven't turned on my tablet computer, but my Blackberry has rested closely beside me all day. I have already responded to twenty emails, and made one phone call. Two of the emails were responses to staff who sent emails with header warnings that said "Do Not Read Until Monday" and "Not, Not, Not Important." Have they met me? Not open an email? I would say that I am pathetic, but I try not to say things like that about myself anymore.
Several hours later...
Okay, I really am pathetic. I won't even say how many more phone calls I made and emails I sent this afternoon. There was clearly some denial happening during the crafting of the first two paragraphs of this post.
Fortunately, help is close at hand. A quick Google search reveals a neverending list of links that will help me figure out how to find more balance between work and...not work. According to Leo Babauto, author of the blog zenhabits: smile, breathe, and go slowly, regular self reflection is the key.
"Think about how your life is going, how you’re spending your time, and decide whether you need to make changes. Then schedule time to make those changes immediately — or make the changes right away if possible."
I've done the reflecting, decided I want more time in my life to write, and scheduled four days off to get a good start on it.
Making changes right away is apparently not possible for me. But I'll do better next Friday.
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