Striking a balance?

[i_jane]

Hi everyone. I have a little dilemma at the moment, concerning work/life balance, and would appreciate some advice/feedback on it.

About eight months ago, I was blessed with a great job that I love doing. I still enjoy it most of the time, but I find myself so snowed under with work right now and too exhausted to keep up. I find myself getting depressed and anxious about it. I find I'm less patient with my family, find it harder to relax in my non-working hours, and am beginning to feel I have little time left to spend with my family when I'm not exhausted. I have a young family, kids that won't be this young again. However, as the sole breadwinner, I am scared to say no to the extra hours.

Technically I am a part-time employee but lately, I have had full-time hours, and I feel like all I do is work. I bring work home to try to keep up. I know the workload is not going to be this heavy forever, but I'm not completely convinced it will ease up any time soon. My boss is relying on me each day, and I recently was given extra long-term responsibilities that I really want to excel at - it's an area I find I'm passionate about.

I think two things are happening here: A) I'm inside of the circle of this busy-ness, and B) I'm too tired to find the solution. How do I balance the imbalance I'm feeling at the moment?

Any advice??

 

[ranyhyn]

The only advice I would have would be to ask if there was anyone else at work with which you could share the workload. I take it from your comment that your boss is relying on you daily that sharing is not an option.

How often do you bring work home? And do you talk about work when you get home all the time? If you are discussing work at home all the time I would suggest that you not do so unless absolutely necessary - like if you have to vent about something to your husband. It's best if you can leave work at work and keep home separate. I know that's not always easy though.

Understand that your work will be there the next day regardless of whether you bring it home with you. If this is a field that you're wanting to work in long time then you may have to make somewhat of a sacrifice - unfortunately. Being the one at work who has the pressure on them is never fun.

The only thing I can tell you is that if you can leave work at work that is best. If you can't get the job done by doing that let your boss know you're having to take work home and that you can't continue to do that on a long-term basis. If you need help ask for it. As long as you're doing your best and you're giving an honest day's work for an honest day's wage then that's all that can be required of you. If the boss is not willing to understand that or get you some help if you need it then it may be time to find work elsewhere as quickly as you can - if possible.