Live to work or work to live?
Have your ever worked hours and hours, far more than you were reasonably supposed to do? And then got back home so exhausted you could hardly do more than getting your children to bed, eat some frozen pizza before your screen, and finally get yourself to bed without having done anything you’d have liked?
Have you ever taken some extra work at home, after an already very busy day? Just telling your husband/wife you had no choice, because “it has to be done”? And then stay up half the night just to achieve what you were supposed to do?
When I was a young developer, I thought I could be rewarded for working more than what I was supposed to do. I thought every additional minute I worked each day was an additional point in the score of my success. I was convinced my boss was seeing it and would have rewarded me some time later.
Maybe not.
This was just a goal I gave to myself, convinced this was the right path to the reward and the success. I was wrong.
Actually, this work overload is too often due to ourselves. “Can you end up this task until tomorrow?”, “Yes, boss”; “We must be ready for the 4th April”, “Yes, boss”. Maybe the answer is just no. And chances are you won’t lose anything saying this word.
What will happen if you say no to this overwork? You won’t be the top candidate for that hypothetical promotion. You were not the only one in the race, anyway. You won’t have that salary raise? I bet you wouldn’t had it because the company is not so healthy. That’s what your boss would have told you. So what? What can you expect to overwork so much? Maybe nothing. Maybe working just enough would bring more benefits.
Time. Energy. Hobbies. Family. Personal project. Put here cool stuff you want.
Thinking this way will switch your life from “Live to work” to “Work to live”. “Work to live” means your work is no more the center of your life. Your work becomes no more than a way to be able to live the life you hoped, do what you love and have time to do it.
I prefer enjoy my life now than just hope to live a better life in a future that may never happen.
I prefer work to live.
