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6 Ways Being a Workaholic Can Take a Toll on Your Health
Workaholics suffer headaches
Work addicts suffer tension and stress related headaches which may give rise to migraines.
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Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. My family and loved ones complain that I seem to always be "on." It's hard to argue with them. I typically average four hours of sleep a day and work late into the night.
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Key Ideas
Treat Your Mind
Stressing your mind with heavy tasks reduces the output and quality of your work. Within your budget, strive to awe yourself with unique activities and you will recover faster from the stress.
Pause Everything Related To Work
If you're truly going to take a break, you need to take time off from everything:
- Set up auto reply for your email account.
- Keep only an emergency phone number activated and leave it with the few people who are likely to be apprised of any worst-case-scenario emergencies that might need your personal attention.
- Stay away from people with whom you have only a work relationship.
Workaholism Pros And Cons
- Being a workaholic isn’t necessarily a bad thing -- if you can balance work with pleasure. If you love your work, your “workaholism” likely brings you feelings of fulfillment and financial security.
- On the flipside, workaholism impacts mind, body and general productivity. Research has found a link between workaholism and reduced physical and mental well-being as well as reduced marriage satisfaction. These studies stress the importance to be cautious and take periodic breaks.
Being busy can be good. It can mean you're being productive and getting things done. It can also be bad and signify that you're taking on too many activities and not giving yourself enough breathing room to relax and rest. My client ran into the Starbucks 30 minutes late for our career coaching session.
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Key Ideas
Chronic busyness
Being chronically busy can become a badge of honor. It makes you feel important.
It can also hurt your health. The long hours, stress and lack of relaxation time can result in insomnia...
Addicted to chronic busyness
- How would you describe your days? Would you call them hectic, chaotic, consumed in activities?
- How does being busy make you feel? Do you enjoy the excitement of going from one activity to another throughout the day?
- Do you take fewer vacation days than you’re given or even skip vacation time altogether (like Tom)?
- What activities do you normally do when you’re not at work? Do you rarely take time to sit, relax and read a book or magazine for fun?
- Are your friends and family weary of hearing how busy you are? Have you ever seen someone roll their eyes when you talk about how busy you are?
A common misconception of business travel life is that it is like going on vacation. Most business trips are the exact opposite, and most business travelers are workaholics. After a long day of travel or work, the average road warrior returns to their hotel room and logs an hour or six in front of a laptop or tablet.
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Key Ideas
Tips To Prepare For Vacations
- Give yourself enough time to complete the work you have committed to before you leave and don’t take on new projects.
- Delegate important tasks to someone capable a...
Tips For During Your Vacation
- Scan your email occasionally to reassure yourself that nothing catastrophic is happening in your absence.
- Try some activities, maybe something new, so you can have so much fun you forget all work related stress.
- Turn off your phone and email notifications so you’re not constantly reminded of work.
- Don’t be tempted to work. You are taking a vacation to get a break. Working during the break will add stress to your trip and resentment when you return.
Tips For Your Return From Vacation
- Get to your inbox first as it will allow you to prioritize your tasks properly.
- Try to keep away from the office or commitments at least for your first day so you will be able to focus on catching up.
- Try to incorporate the stress relieving tactics you found during your vacation to your routine.
- Don’t work late. As tempting as it may be, work your normal hours when you return.