Stress.

[dsrtao]

There's a Big Project at work, which is finally within spitting distance of being done. After that, of course, there will be another Big Project. My life is a cycle of "wake up, work from home, say hello to the kids, go to work, come home, eat dinner, try to relax for an hour, work from home, go to sleep, repeat. And sometimes there are alarums in the middle of the night, but not very many lately and my minion is getting quite good at catching those.

I'm starting to get to the "burn things because they are pretty" stage, which is not where I want to be. I haven't taken much of my allotted vacation this year, and management played silly bugger games with the employee handbook to the point where I'm going to have to talk to big management to see if this can be straightened out. I really hope that Turkey Day provides the break that I need. If I don't get this fixed, I will get depressed, then my immune system will go south, then I will get sick. Bad things ensue.

Comments

[n5red.livejournal.com]

You need a real break. Several weeks worth and a change of scenery. Your current situation is one that drives your productivity down, leading to longer hours, leading to driving your productivity further down....

Yeah, I know, preaching to the choir. Let me know if I can do anything to help.

[metahacker.livejournal.com]

Ok, look, mister; you need to intervene now, before you lose the sanity to intervene in a rational fashion. You need to protect yourself. Work is overworking you, and you need to push back in the right ways. Whether that means time off, or more delegation, better defense of your leisure time, or some way to reduce your workday (e.g. modifying your commute/telecommuting more), you need to act now before you're completely over the edge.

I'm not telling you anything new, but consider this externally applied willpower. I am available for more consultation if you need.

[robertdfeinman.livejournal.com]

Well the first step is to realize that you are stressed. You have done that, now you have to decide on your priorities in life.

All firms will allow workers to take on too much if they have feelings of pride in their work or a sense of responsibility. It's like the school teachers who buy their own school supplies when the school doesn't supply them. They depend upon the worker's desire to succeed. This has become so prevalent in education that teachers can now take an automatic $200 tax deduction for such supplies.

You are, obviously, an important employee. What this probably means is that they need you more than you need them. You need to use this fact when you bring up your concerns. I don't mean explicitly as in "I'll quit if X doesn't happen". Just in your tone.