How to Wean Yourself from Being a Workaholic

                                                    By Helen Godfrey, MA, NCC, BCC, LPC

                                                          www.theauthenticpath.com

If you find that you spend too much of your time working, your life may become much less satisfying than it once was and you may even suffer from burnout. It's easy to get caught up in your work. Sometimes you don't even realize it until it seems too late, but it's never too late to break out of the bad habit!

The Underlying Problem

Often times you may get swept up with your work because of an underlying problem. It's true that sometimes you're just getting too much pressure at work to get things done on time, but more often than not, you may find that you're using your work to hide from other problems.

Ask yourself these questions:

• Are you working too much because of financial strain?
• Are you trying to avoid your home life?
• Are you using work to avoid some other issue you're facing?

If you're overworking yourself because of financial reasons, you can only do it for so long. Sooner or later your mental and physical health will begin to suffer. You need to work hard with an end date in mind. If this doesn't work for you, perhaps it's time to find a better paying job.

If you're avoiding problems at home, you absolutely must concentrate on solving these problems. They aren't going to go away just because you've been escaping the situation. The only way things will improve is if you take action to resolve what's plaguing you.

Balance Out Your Life

Once you've solved any underlying problems, you'll want to bring balance back to your life. In order to wean yourself from your work, there are certain tips you can utilize to change your working habits.

Try some of these techniques:

1. Make time for yourself. Realize that you and your health are ultimately more important than your work. Schedule time for yourself and treat that time as more important than any of your other deadlines. If you need some inspiration about how to spend your time, please take a look at some of the suggested resources.
2. Unwind at the end of the day. Decide on a firm bedtime and unwind before going to bed. Decide when you're going to sleep and, approximately 30 minutes beforehand, engage in a relaxing activity that has nothing to do with your work such as relaxing yoga poses or reading. There are a lot of free meditation apps that may be helpful to explore.
3. Exercise. Incorporate a moderate exercise routine into your schedule a few times each week. Exercise will help you relax and release some of your stress from work. It's great for both your physical and mental health and is one more good way to wean yourself from overworking. This can be a great way to meet new people too. Consider joining an adult sports team or simply a non-competitive group that gets together for fun.
4. Take days off. You need days off from your work from time to time. It's just a fact. If you have a traditional job where you have weekends free, spend them away from work. On your days off, avoid even thinking or talking about work. Let your mind be free!

Resources

ClassPass 

You may travel a lot or you may not want to commit to one gym quite yet. Try out ClassPass which allows you to attend various classes at different gyms in your city as well as other cities when you are traveling.  

MeetUp 

Do you want to make new friends? This is a great way to meet wonderful people who have similar interests as you. 

 Groupon 

This can be a fun and inexpensive way to try out different activities in your city. 

Start Slow

 Remember that these changes don't have to happen all at once, but you can start incorporating them into your life one at a time. Your life simply can't be all about work. Remember to spend time doing activities that you enjoy besides work.

Take some time today to implement just one or two of these strategies and you'll soon realize that there is life outside of work!