Why you feel like you’re not in control of your work life
And how to take charge
It is difficult to enjoy all the wonderful things that life has to offer when all you are focused on is your work- like, all the time. And in between those days of deep motivation and a breakdown from exhaustion lies an unending flow of work and responsibilities that take your mind off from everything else that is important to you. I’ve been suffering this throughout the month of March and I decided firmly that I’m going to put a stop to it this April.
I agree that work is good, but it should not always be overwhelming and be the highlight of every single hour. Below, I talk about the possible reason why your work may be taking so much of your time and making you feel overwhelmed, and how to stop that.
1. You don’t write things down.
This habit isn’t just a recipe for productivity, it is a necessity if you don’t want to wake up every day and forget half of the things you are supposed to do, only to remember them at the end of the day or when an external trigger reminds you. The truth is, forgetfulness can happen more often than we think, not necessarily because of any underlying health problem. The brain is programmed to handle just one thing at a time effectively, so what makes you think that all your plans and thoughts can just latch onto that same brain?
When you write down everything like ideas, plans, activities, schedules, etc., then you will know exactly the direction your life is going in, and you won’t just feel like you’re being dragged along by the rest of the world.
2. You don’t check your physical mental health.
In the course of a busy week and just working non-stop, we sometimes forget that our bodies were not made to be like robots working 24/7. You can never feel like you’re in control of your life when you don’t take breaks to fuel and check the body and mind that helps you get all this work done. You don’t need to be ill before taking care of your health. You can start b taking frequent breaks from work, having a leisure activity at least once a week, having one day every week where you don’t have to work hard or even at all, eating foods that nourish your mind and body, and just taking your mind off work things once in a while.
When you don’t take this break, your work life just becomes a never ending cycle of strenuous hard work, nervous and physical breakdowns, fatigue, and hard work again.
3. You think life is always “all or nothing”
The all-or-nothing mentality means that you’re willing do the greatest amount of work possible in one day, or get nothing done at all. The downside is that, on days where we don’t feel like ourselves 100% (which happens a lot), then we would be feeling too discouraged to put in any effort at all. Ditch the all-or-nothing mentality, and resolve within yourself that every day, you will work according to your capacity. Some days its 70%, other days its 15%, and on those days when we are high on motivation, it could even be 200%.
You’re not guaranteed to have a linear workflow, and trying to get that every day will just make you frustrated and feel like you can’t get any work done because things aren’t going in your favour. Some days, you won’t have a perfect schedule. Agree with that and move on. You might have to record that video much later because a headache didn’t allow you do it when you should have. Accept it and move on. Most importantly, do what you can, when you can, to the best of your ability.
4. You Don’t Reevaluate Things from time to time
Life isn’t linear, and I personally don’t see why should be. Therefore, the universe cannot guarantee you that everything you need will happen to you at the exact moment you need it. If you need to change your job, the universe won’t help you evaluate other options and turn in your resignation letter. You have to do that for yourself. If something just isn’t working in your life, you need to take the proactive step of finding out how to correct that. A funny confession on my part is that I go to Google to ask questions whenever I feel stuck on something. Might not be the most resourceful option, but at least it’s a good start.
Always remember that you are in control of your own life, and nobody is in a better position to decide what the next direction should be than you. Think critically about your choices and future decisions. Ask yourself: “Why am I feeling stressed at work/my craft?” or “is there something I should be doing differently?” And when you get your answers, I hope you’re not too scared to act on them.
5. You don’t have a plan
Maybe this should have been first, because there is no way you will feel like you understand the direction of your work life when you don’t have it planned out. But before you start beating yourself up, let me confess that I don’t have a very detailed plan for what my career will look like exactly in the next 20–30 years. That’s not what I’m asking of you either. I do have a simple blueprint though, based on my work preferences and the skills I plan to develop. If you hate your current job, do you have an escape plan? Well, you should. Or at least some kind of blueprint to give you an idea of what you want your future to be like
Thanks for reading!
