Everyone puts in long days and nights at the office on occasion. However, if you feel like all you do is work, you may truly be spending too much time at the office.
Just to be sure, here are seven signs you’re working too hard.
Your work keeps coming up short
You may feel like you’re going in a thousand directions at once. If your work isn’t coming out at the level of quality you’re used to, then chances are you’re overworked. When you’re spreading yourself too thin, you will find your mental focus and enthusiasm tapering off. You won’t be able to deliver the type of quality product your clients expect, and your career will suffer from it.
You find yourself acting like Oscar the Grouch
If you find yourself snapping in irritation at waiters, receptionists and other people, then chances are you’re getting burned out from work. Emotions are hard to keep in check when you’re running on empty or feeling overburdened. A sure sign is when your temper unleashes itself on someone who doesn’t deserve it, but makes an easy target.
Mentally, you never leave the office
You physically leave work at a certain time, but your mind is always at the office. You may be driving home on your commute or having dinner with family, but in your head you’re still thinking about work-related issues. You are so good at multi-tasking that you go through your personal life on autopilot, while mentally marking off a checklist from work.
Your personal life is frequently hijacked
You are so overly committed to your work that you have made yourself too easily accessible in your off hours. If you find your family time and holidays are being interrupted by work-related messages, then you have not set a clear boundary. If your phone is never off, or away from you, then you are putting work first and your personal life second.
You seem to be doing everything at warp speed
People may be noticing that you are always rushing around at top speed. You often find yourself forgetting to do things like eat regular meals, and you frequently have an elevated heart rate. A constant state of “fight or flight” comes from too much stress and pressure. That overload of adrenaline takes a hard toll on the body and the mind.
You don’t remember what to do with free time
You find yourself with a few quiet moments, but you have no idea what to do with them. People who frequently detach from work have no trouble filling their free time with things to do. So if you have to make a point to find something to do with your down time, then you aren’t getting enough of it.
You haven’t had a good night’s sleep in a long while
Restless nights and insomnia are clear indicators that your mind isn’t shutting down and getting rest. If your brain doesn’t rest, neither does your body. Without finding a way to close the door on work issues when you’re away, you end up tired and foggy headed. Lack of sleep will turn into a vicious cycle of more mental strain down the road.
The solution? Take a vacation, or at least a day off! Your body, mind and future productivity will be all the better for it.
-The Alternative Daily
Sources:
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/article/20140624051635-11846967-10-signs-you-re-working-too-hard-and-how-to-stop
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/delia-lloyd/five-signs-youre-working-_b_753199.html
http://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifehack/ask-the-entrepreneurs-15-signs-youre-working-too-much-and-burning-out.html
