#WorkLifeBalance #OfficeStruggles #MentalHealth
I was thinking about posting this in the Advice Reddit forum, but it feels more like a work-related dilemma. 🤔
How is it that everyone manages to work 8 hours a day, get things done, and still feels like they can function after work? I used to have a more physically demanding job and honestly, I had more energy compared to the mental drain of an office job.
Let’s break it down:
- Energy Levels: Why do I feel more drained after a day of sitting at a desk than when I was on my feet? 😩
- The Daily Grind: Do you guys not get bored out of your minds with the same routine? Drive to work, work, drive home…and then just collapse. 😴
- After-Work Activities: How do you manage to squeeze in hobbies or personal projects after putting in 8 hours? 🕒
I really want to know how you all avoid going nuts with this daily loop. What’s your secret sauce for balancing work and life without losing your mind? 🍜
Thanks for sharing your experiences or tips! Looking forward to your insights!
>How does everyone just do it?
Sadly, the term *’deaths of despair’* would indicate that everyone is not able to just do it. The idea of wage-slaving away to make the rich richer, to put a few morsels in the stomach and a roof over one’s head, fuels feeling of worthlessness.
The inhumanity of it all creeps up, the despair deepens, life ebbs away.
Personally, I try to do my best to enjoy the little things and really be mindful about how I’m spending my time. I hate that we are expected to just spend so much of our lives working to make money rather than be happy, I know so many of us feel like we do not have any extra time or energy to take on anything else. I would say say that when things feel overwhelming try to split them up.
So for example, say your dream job is making a video game or something like that. That obviously takes years to accomplish, on top of years of learning to code well enough to even start. That feels like a huge task when you don’t have much free time on your hands, but if you split it up little by little, over the years you start making progress and eventually you will get to where you want to be. Focus on doing things, not in 100% increments or even 50%, but really really small, like literally 1%.
I know that isn’t exactly what you’re asking, but for me, my hobbies are what keep me going and make me happy, and some hobbies can make you money if you’re good enough at them as well. Hobbies are also really good for making friends and if they’re athletic hobbies, you get free exercise and a big serotonin boost too.
But yeah, enjoying the little things and really making sure I am aware of how I am spending my time. It can suck to feel like you’re living by a schedule, but honestly planning your days out in advance can help you a lot with making sure you get your stress free “fun time” without feeling guilty. I also do a lot of reflecting on that time I have and I try to make myself more aware in the moment of the fact that I am grateful for that little time I do have, if that makes any sense.
Trying to break up the mundanity from time to time can help. If you live near somewhere you can do something like see a sight or go to the beach or go on a hike, or hell if you can afford it, taking yourself or a friend out to eat somewhere you usually wouldn’t or maybe do an activity you usually wouldn’t. Just try your best to enrich your life outside of work if you can.
I bought a project car and throw my spare time and money at it. I’m still broke but atleast I feel accomplished and have something I enjoy doing and playing with
I don’t do shit after work. If you catch me on my way home I’ll stop and something if you need it, but once I am in the house and take my shoes and bra off I’m not going anywhere. I have a very fast paced, mentally draining office job. I don’t even have the energy talk about work when i’m done.
I’m in my 40s and also don’t feel the need or desire to do anything doesn’t involve being home. I’ll still go out on occasion but I need to make sure my social battery is in the green before hand.
Originally, this work schedule was manageable when a household was able to survive on one person sacrificing their day and their partner handling their house.
Now. Not so much.
I’m going to be real with you, I am not living my life the way I want to. I have a medical condition where I feel exhausted 24/7 that still hasn’t been resolved and I’m losing my mind. The ONLY reason I can do my current job is because I’m at home 3 days a week, but those 2 days in the office are torture. Our floor is getting laid off February of next year and I’m terrified of not being able to hold down my next job. I also live at home so that takes the weight off of a lot of extra responsibilities. I’m too exhausted to date or pursue any of my other hobbies outside of gaming. Even gaming there are days I just really don’t feel into it because of how tired I am. The 8 hour work day needs to go away, I’m just so sick of it.
Most days I am 8 hours at work but I am not working 8 hours.
Try 10s
I work 10 hours everyday and Saturdays, you get used to it but I’m job searching rn. I can’t believe these work places really expect me to be 110% while being mentally and physically exhausted.
I work 10 hours a day and work Thursdays from home so I just sacrifice 3 days out of my week and do everything on the other 4
Wasn’t school the same?
Friends are there tho. And relationships.
But few are excited about Math or English.
But your goal was graduation and starting life.
What’s your goal now?
If you don’t have a goal, it’s a grind.
Stimulants
Narcotics.
I was going to write a post like this, but in addition i would never be able to buy or rent a place. Housing is extremely expensive in my area and most of the places are used for short term rentals.
I work construction, 4 days a week 10 hrs a day. Wake at 5am, leave the house at 530, start work at 7. Leave work 530pm. Home at 7pm and work in the yard til dark. I have 5 acres that need kept up. Fridays are for appointments, any stuff needing done at local business, etc.. Weekends are spent doing stuff in or outside around d the house or out spending time riding the trails on our side by side, going to events or other stuff in the region. Or just banging around having fun. I’m 53Mand married to 65F for 34 yrs. We are older, I am way over weight, (working on that down 55lbs since october) we are also slower so recreation is done at a slower pace.My wife has some serious health issues, I do most of the house work all of the outside work, i cook dinner and do cleanup. Some of our time together is just sitting side by side looking at the yard and talking about the world or making plans for the future.
I have found that if we want to do it we just have to do it. Everyone has time to binge watch TV shows, we do too. Everyone has time to play video games with acquaintances. They have time to sit around and do nothing yet claim they don’t have time for fun stuff. As the old Nike commercial says “Just do it!”. Sometimes the money isn’t there, sometimes there isn’t time. But many times, I find if we want it bad enough, we will figure it out. There are times I want to just go in and sit down in the AC after work. But I think about the possibilities of the weekend. Are we going to want to go trail riding, will we want to go sight seeing. Do we want a date night at a restaurant. And decide to put the gloves on and trim around the house and put buildings or mow a part of the yard after work so I don’t have to do it on the weekend.
Some of the stuff I do really sucks. But the yard and housework have to be done. I have learned I can usually do the dishes on less time than it would take me to sit down and put it off. All cleaning, yard work, maintenance of home and vehicles if kept up takes very little time. If you let it go then yep it takes work to catch up. Schedule your days to include your fun. Then stick to it. Even if tired many times you will find you have a lot of fun and sleep better when you have accomplished stuff. I lay around all day then can’t sleep at night then my next day sicks and it build up. I know I’m an old dude telling you to just do it. We’ll yep, it took me 50 years to figure it out. So just do it. See if you can make it work for you. Adjust as needed but stay after it and you might end up having a good time. Even if it is just sitting and watching the grass grow at times.
I do as little as possible at work to still get paid and not attract attention. But the things that I actually do I do very well. I have the benefit of working in a field where a lot of my work is reactive (SysAdmin work for the state government) and where I’m paid mostly so I can help people make good decisions about our IT infrastructure.
Doing state government work also has its benefits, as I know that my work is assisting agencies and programs that are designed to help the people and general public at large. I might be a small cog in the large government machine, but I vote to make people’s lives better, and work to do the same. Definitely keeps the depression away.
Weed and shrooms
For those of us with family’s we do it because people count on us to provide and make sure everything is taken care of.. I have no idea what keeps everyone else on the hamster wheel
I couldn’t, working 5 days a week as my regular schedule SUCKED. To be fair it wasn’t actually 5 8’s since the warehouse I worked at before was a “work to completion” facility meaning it really was like 2 10’s and 3 9’s.
I actually opted for longer shifts and went with a 3 12 schedule. The days are long but I don’t feel the need to do anything when I get home. I eat, shit, maybe even shower, then I go to bed for the next day. What I get out of it though is 4 day weekends every week. I only work 36 hours out of the week and I have more days off than working and still make a full time wage. I also learned different departments and pushed HARD to get myself into the department that I hate the least so that I’m not thinking about eating lead half the day.