All New CommentMILK Version 1.0Work Stress Affects Your Overall Life - So Take Time OFF!
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Are you happy?
Think about that seriously right now… are you truly happy? I do not mean do you love your job, are you rich or anything like that… I just mean happy.
- Are you out of shape, do you eat like crap, do you feel like crap?
- Are you always on the computer, always working, always telling family members, “give me a few more minutes”?
- Are you stressed out and always worrying about something?
I am sure that these question do not relate to all of you but I can guarantee there are a lot of you that know exactly what I am talking about.
The entrepreneurial spirit is a great thing to have, wanting to grow your business, get out of the rat race and have freedom… BUT AT WHAT COST?
You know there is a funny thing about computers, they can almost mesmerize you in a way that is addictive and this in combination with wanting to get a business running can be a bad combination.
Just the other day, my wife made me laugh when she was doing a blog post for her blog An Aud Life and my youngest daughter was asking her to tuck her in. I heard my wife say 3 times in a row “Just a minute”… and WOW did that make me laugh.
Why?
Because only a few months a go my wife had nothing to do with the computers… she maybe would check email or facebook but spent very little time on it. Now that she is getting into blogging, she suddenly is finding herself getting sucked in. She loves checking for comments, commenting on others blogs, getting involved in her social communities and checking stats.
It felt so good to finally say to her, after the third “in a moment” to say… “HA, I TOLD YOU!”
Having no idea what I was referring to, I explained and she almost could not believe what she had done. I reminded her how she would be so intolerant of it with me because she could not understand why I could not just stop what I was doing. She finally understood and felt terrible and immediately shut the computer down and went to tuck in our daughter.
Now for those that are asking “why did you not tuck her in and let your wife work”.. well I already did, they like us both to tuck them in.
OK, so the point of this little story is to emphasize the point that it is vital to keep priorities in order at all times. We can get so involved into the present moment that we lose complete sight of the big picture and what really matters. We can spend so much time focusing on “Work” or other things that we think are so vital that we miss everything else and later we look back at these moments and absolutely regret missing out on them.
What also happens is we make it even more stressful on ourselves because of guilt… so we exhaust ourselves, do no take care of ourselves and also beat up on ourselves because we know we should not be doing what we are doing!
Do not work yourself to death, do not ignore your spouse or your kids, do not exhaust your mind and body and take some time off.
On Friday I had a situation arise in my office and I truly think I had every reason to use the excuse that I could not go away this weekend because I had to handle it. Well you know what, too bad. I had promised my family we would go away this weekend and so I went. Now believe me, it was not an easy decision but it was the best one.
We had an excellent weekend, it was a tremendous stress relief and you know what… I can truly say… I AM HAPPY!
Enjoy life and keep priorities in order… that is what true success really is.
For me what really brings it all into perspective is this –> What do you want your loved ones to have engraved on your tombstone?
“Your Name Here” was a hard worker who knew how to put work above everything else!
or
“Your Name Here” was a loving husband, dedicated father and lived life to the fullest!
So what are your priorities?
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Awesome post and a really valid point
I am working full time trying to make my blog into something awesome and I can find myself not spending enough time with the people I love.
Thanks for this post
Good job, Jason. I was afraid you were going to end that story with, “Sometimes you do have a good excuse, and unfortunately I couldn’t go away this weekend.”
Maybe this is bizarre to say but I’m thankful that, as of right now, I don’t have much obligation to other people. I don’t feel dependable as far as schedule and work. The lack of security makes me want to panic sometimes. Hopefully, I won’t let it affect important decisions…but I know I have already.
This is a great article that probably everyone here should take to heart, I know I catch myself like this a good bit, especially juggling the day job(hotelier), the hobby Blogger/Internet Marketer and being a good husband, oh yea and sleeping. Good stuff, Im on a decent schedule now so I tend to have less problems and remain much happier!
Big Ben Pattons last blog post..Weekly Round Up
Thanks guys, glad you appreciated the post.
@Ryan - Back about 10 years ago that caused a lot of stress in my life and almost cost me my marriage. It was a HUGE lesson for me.
@Roo - it was a tough call because of a bad situation but looking into the cute eyes of my daughters, it was the only one I could make and not feel like a schmuck.. and man am I glad I did it.
@Big Ben Pattons - Glad to hear and thanks for the mention in your link love post. I like the template redesign, it looks good and the opt in form for your ebook is slick looking.
If you relate this to blogging then taking time off would be a bad idea unless you write articles in advance.
I think most people that manage blogging as a business have people helping them that can fill in content - taking time off is not only NOT a bad thing - it is a required thing for us computer mongrels who literally live on our blogging platforms…otherwise you’ll go crazy and lose all of your friends and your original perspective on life.
- Richard
Richard Wilsons last blog post..Art Investment
I think this is a very important topic that we all overlook. Timothy Ferris has done a nice job with the Four Hour Work Week on this topic, whether you agree with a Four Hour Work Week or not, there is no point in working yourself to dealth and missing out on family, travel, and quality of life stuff.
Take a break, hug your kids and remember they are only small once.
Thanks for all your great work on John Cow, I am following your eBook and posts to build my new blog, slowly but surely, at http://www.supersizeyourhealth.com
Thanks,
Bradley P. White
Bradley P Whites last blog post..Top 10 Health Tips from Supersizeyourhealth.com - Tip #1
This is so true… the last few times I was stressed at my job, the negative effects trickle into all other areas of my life - my eating habits were worse (fast food, no home cooking), my exercise habits were non-existent, and I had a icky attitude towards the people closest to me. Then, when I recently changed to a better job, my eating habits improved greatly, I now play tennis 4 - 5 times a week and am taking dance lessons, and I’m much friendlier to all those around me. It makes a big difference!
yes, but you are still hot.
Hi John,
Thanks for an excellent post. I think you just saved me from working myself into a state of complete burnout……… I’ve also been following your wonderful E-book whilst building my blog My Wine Cellar http://www.brandonmarc.com and this has been such a huge learning curve for me. Once again, thankyou for the great post and of course your free Ebook.
Brandon Marc My Wine Cellar
This is really funny. I had a stay at home job under a company and was so stressed that I don’t say “Just a minute” to my family, I YELL it.
I took up blogging and whatever else we do online to earn cash so that I will be less stressed and will have more time to cuddle the baby and the hubby.
Family comes first. All the time, Mealtimes and tuck in times are sacred and should never be missed.
Evil Woobies last blog post..The Niche: What is Your Blog About?
Right on! Live better, work smarter. Keep priorities in place.
I set a timer for 15 minutes to make sure the laundry got out of the dryer at the right time and with the time it took to sit, read, think about it and respond to your e-mail the stupid timer signal goes off. Couldn’t be 15 minutes already? You are right about how the computer sucks us in.
Happily reading your blog, Grandmapeg
This weekend I was trying to get my family out of the house, and my 11 year old was still not coming up from downstairs, and he kept yelling “just a minute!” -
Turns out he was writing a post on his blog. …sigh… Now where would he learn stuff like that?
I wish I had that kind of work ethic and dedication where I needed to take a break, unfortunately it’s my blogging that usually takes a back seat far too often. I agree that plenty of people work too hard and let their work take over though and a bit of stress relief never goes astray.
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The hardest part is being motivated by the fact that you need to make your blog produce enough income so you can travel and have fun with family and friends yet not alienate them while starting up your business…takes a lot of work to live off of a blog.
- Richard
Funny, my friend also shared me their lesson about stress a while ago. And then I’ve stumbled upon this in your blog. Maybe the whole world speaking to me right now. To takesome time off.
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An excellent post as usual. I also often find myself saying “Just a minute” to my wife. I think she got used to it and didn’t mind it anymore, but she do expect me to ask her what she wanted to talk about…
Andre Thomass last blog post..A Revelation I Had As I Was Waiting In A Queue - This Could Affect Your Life Big Time
I agree with you Jason. I think that’s the problem for rest of us here have to face even it happens to me. Have a Kit Kat then.
HOLLY CRAP, does that say it all or what? nice post. Actually could be your best post to date