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Do you bring your work home with you?

steddyeddy

I was looking at the recent weddings thread there and realised how much I hate weddings at the moment. I also dislike birthday parties and anything else I feel obligated to be at. I wasn't always like this. When I started working I found myself having less time for friends and weddings ect. I realised that my life revolves around work and it takes up much of my day. I find it really hard to balance a normal life and work. Does many other people bring their work home with them?

I'll add I'm involved in academia. I come home from work but often my mind doesn't follow.

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Lapin

Depends on the nature of the work. Some jobs are impossible to seperate from day to day life while others are simply nine to five.

The trick is to strike a balance between the two.

Either you have far too much work or far too many weddings.

Personally I'd prefer to be at work than at a wedding pretenting to be nice to people I normally wouldn't care a toss about.

shruikan2553

Last job i was at, it was 5:30 and off home. Next time work was thought about was 9am the next day.

Mint Aero

I try not to steddy but I'm so important and my work is even more important so I do

steddyeddy

Mint Aero wrote: »

I try not to steddy but I'm so important and my work is even more important so I do

I don't know if you're joking but I actually think like that (especially the latter part of the sentence). My work is important and why would I put anything less than 100% into it. If friends don't understand that they're not friends.

Mint Aero

steddyeddy wrote: »

I don't know if you're joking but I actually think like that (especially the latter part of the sentence). My work is important and why would I put anything less than 100% into it. If friends don't understand that they're not friends.

I was half joking but there's only so many hours in the day and the work will still be there tomorrow and the day after so is there any point trying to cram it all into one day? I only bring it home if I want to get something sh*tty out of the way fast.

wobbles

Trick is to do something on your journey to and from work that allows you to switch from home to work mode.

I cycle to work and that is what I use to make the transition to work mode/home mode. When im on the bike to work, I can prepare myself mentally for the day, plan out what im going to do. On the way home you can do a little round up of your day, quick plan for tomorrow etc. Once thats done you can enjoy the rest of the trip home.

Tail Docker

I clean toilets for a living, I tried bringing my work home with me but the smell in the house was feckin rank, so I stopped.

Tar.Aldarion

I try not to but I be thinking away, and have to start studying to increase what I know.

steddyeddy

Tar.Aldarion wrote: »

I try not to but I be thinking away, and have to start studying to increase what I know.

This. In my area most things go wrong and when they go right you have to make sure they don't go right by accident then you have to prepare for the next experiment. No escape

TheSheriff

Im about to start into the whole academia thing steddy, starting a PhD soon

I know my biggest issue will be bringing the work home with me. I find it very hard to disconnect at the end of the day during previous stints as a research assistant.

Hopefully, as I now realize this, I'll manage to strike up some sort of balance from the beginning

PizzamanIRL

Yes. It's called homework. I'll get detention if I don't do it.

Vojera

I used to work in academia too, and I seemed to have work on my mind all the time, to the extent that I used to wake up in the middle of the night with viable solutions to problems I couldn't solve during the day.

Last year I had a complete career change and now work in admin (not by choice but because I had to pay my rent somehow) and I love it! I pick my wife up from her job on the way home, we talk about work in the car and then once we close the front door it's "home" time. I feel like my quality of life has improved massively even though I'm on less money.

Cee-Jay-Cee

I work to live not live to work. No work is more important than family or friends.

Your priorities are up your hole OP.

woodchuck

OP I used to be in academia and research too and left for that very reason. Evenings and weekends were spent writing papers, reading papers, preparing presentations, preparing to give tutorials, correcting assignments and looking/applying for other jobs/grants (because it seemed to just be one short term contract to the next). And that was for the evenings/weekends when I didn't need to be in the lab :rolleyes:

It really started to effect my mental and physical health and obviously my social life too, so I made a conscious decision to find a job where I could have a better work/life balance. I have nothing but respect for people who choose to dedicate their lives to science/academia, but it just wasn't for me in the long term. Now I have a job that I enjoy (where I still get to use my scientific knowledge), but it's basically a 9-5 and have all my evenings and weekends free. Of course there are times when you have to work late etc, but its gone from being the norm to the exception. I'm much happier now

The Backwards Man

I barely think about what I'm doing when I'm working, never mind when I'm not.

The Cool

I used to, at my last job and I hated it. Between work and my commute I'd be out of the house 11 hours a day, from before 8am til 7pm and then it'd be the same routine of making and eating dinner, breaking out the laptop and doing another hour's work, then trying to relax for an hour before falling into bed. On Fridays I'd end up falling asleep in front of the TV. That's no life, I mean it was fine for me as a young graduate with no other responsibilities but I realised that if I had this lifestyle when I had children, I would never ever see them. Life's too short to spend that much of your week working.

Ghost Buster

Work to live, don't live to work. The moment I leave work I unapologetically refusevto answer my phone to anything work related. I might answer a text at a push but thats it.

Turtyturd

Occasionally bring stuff to read on the commute but that's about it.

Often say I will do stuff over the weekend to stop my manager annoying me but know that I will have enough time to do it on Monday morning.

[Deleted User]

Yes I do. I have to though because there just aren't enough hours in the day. In my old job I never did. It was a shop job so didn't have anything really to take home

Adyx

I'm a barman so I'd get sacked if I did. I'm also a full-time student so that does come home unfortunately. I fcuking hate calculus so fcuking much. :mad:

Simonigs1.0

Ghost Buster wrote: »

Work to live, don't live to work. The moment I leave work I unapologetically refusevto answer my phone to anything work related. I might answer a text at a push but thats it.

This. If there is a problem with something in work and I'm finished or not in it can wait until I am.

pow wow

Yeah and I hate it. Holidays are never really holidays because there's some emergency and I get a phone call or an email. There isn't anyone above me where I work so that's why....and it's why I'll be looking for a middle management role next time. Fcuking hate it.

[Deleted User]

steddyeddy wrote: »

I don't know if you're joking but I actually think like that (especially the latter part of the sentence). My work is important and why would I put anything less than 100% into it. If friends don't understand that they're not friends.

I work in research and yes at times long hours have to be put in with deadlines etc but I look on it as a job to make money in order to enjoy life outside work. It's a pet hate of mine with people who allow their job become their lives and often give out to some friends at work who won't come on on the beer etc because they want to stay working trying to meet unrealistic deadlines they have taken on meaning they are working 7 days a week and working late every night for weeks etc.

TheSheriff

Keenan Lemon User wrote: »

I work in research and yes at times long hours have to be put in with deadlines etc but I look on it as a job to make money in order to enjoy life outside work. It's a pet hate of mine with people who allow their job become their lives and often give out to some friends at work who won't come on on the beer etc because they want to stay working trying to meet unrealistic deadlines they have taken on meaning they are working 7 days a week and working late every night for weeks etc.

And usually for no extra pay or thanks !

[Deleted User]

All the time. Not because I have to, but because I enjoy it and there's always something new to learn or figure out. I can leave it behind easily enough if I want to switch off or go out but I don't have a problem working on things at home if I feel the urge. If I hated it, I would.

I think it's a lot to do with the type of work you do. If you work in retail or an office 9 to 5 it's easier to forget about it outside business hours. If you're in academia or a people business for example, not so easy.

beks101

Ugh this thread is depressing. I'm writing this from the bus stop outside work. Blackberry in one hand, coffee in the other. In at 6.30am this morning. Can't remember the last weekend I didn't catch this fcuking bus.

My work is a lifestyle choice. I work in TV News for an American network, which is just so many worlds of chaos combined - newsroom, live TV, NY work clock. Fecked all together.

It's taken me 29 years to find a functional relationship & at that it's because himself is a workaholic. I get a serious dose of the guilts if I don't check my blackberry for too long & with good reason - the email traffic is crazy & if I'm not up to speed I'll spend half of tomorrow playing catch up & annoying Type A producers.

The upside is the excitement & adrenaline, watching the world's biggest news events unfold before your eyes & I'm good at it. Good at work, not so good at life sometimes. It can be a crutch too. A way of clocking out of your personal life & excusing yourself from the things that everyone else has going on. I see that in my colleagues all the time.

[Deleted User]

TheSheriff wrote: »

And usually for no extra pay or thanks !

Salaried jobs so no question of extra pay. I work hard myself, often have to work a few extra hours in the evenings and an odd time come in on weekends but I do it when it's necessary and when things are quiet I will get a few hours back here and there due to working hours being flexible.

Some people however never have a quiet time they just live to work completely, working most weekends, late most evenings etc or take few days off but undo it by working ridiculous hours after coming back so in reality not taking time off at all.

I very much understand that walking out the door at 5pm is unrealistic in a lot of jobs, I don't see myself ever really being in a position to finish that early regularly however there are some people who go the other way far too much.

smurfjed

I have no choice, so much of my job is based on education and good planning, I fly for a living, so the environment, rules and regulations are constantly changing, not to mention company policies and procedures. So we have no choice but to study changes, update manuals and charts, follow weather patterns and generally be as prepared as possible by the time the wheels come up

But i wouldn't change any single part of it