Tag: balance

Making Work-Life Balance Happen

10 Comments

I’ve mentioned a few times before that I’m a workaholic but basically all I did in 2020 was work and now I’m burnt out and don’t quite know how to fix it.

My company wants us to have work-life balance but we’ve grown so much in the past few years that it just doesn’t feel possible anymore. In order to keep up with the demand we are all working long hours and I don’t see an end in sight. I love the company I work for and the team I’m on but I’m so tired every day and I really just want to be able to take a lunch break or a vacation day without feeling guilty.

In general I’ve been questioning work-life balance. I haven’t been sleeping well because I have anxiety dreams about work and I can’t shut them off. I’m worried about my to-do list, I’m worried I’m missing an e-mail because there are too many, I’m worried about training others while trying to learn new things myself. I’m worried that I will burn out for real before I even turn 30.

2021 has to be the year that I figure this out. I need to take all my vacation days without feeling guilty. I need to have a normal amount of responsibilities. I need to put my mental health first. And most of all, I need to work normal hours because working this much is not healthy.

In 2019 I wrote a post about how my dream job was no longer a specific job. Instead it was a team, my team. I still love my team SO much but I don’t know if it’s enough anymore. 2019 was the best year of work for me. I was in a great place but 2020 changed everything and I don’t know how to go back.

Have you been able to make work-life balance? How do you put your needs first?

Photo by Kevin Bhagat on Unsplash

Surviving the Busy Season

1 Comment

I haven’t even thought about blogging in a couple of weeks. Year-end is pretty rough for me at work and I’ve been training two new hires on a job that I do not enjoy at all. It’s hard to find the motivation to do the job I’m being paid to do let alone this side blogging gig that I do just for fun.

I’m sure that every job has a “busy season” where the employees have to work long hours and the work-life balance isn’t so great. The 2020 “busy season” has basically been all year it seems. Work has been nonstop and I haven’t caught up for a second.

I don’t want to complain because I am so thankful for my job but it’s tough. I think I’m not at that stage of adulthood where the holiday season is more stressful than magical because I’m so busy that I can’t really stop to enjoy it anymore.

I guess I just wanted to pop in and say hi. I’m still alive just busy and tired. Hopefully 2021 will be better.

Photo by Garrhet Sampson on Unsplash

How I Handle the “Real World” & Blogging

19 Comments

anete-lusina-zwsHjakE_iI-unsplash.jpg

Most people in my “real” life don’t know that I have a blog. It’s not something that I really advertise because I don’t want to answer questions or have people that I know read my blog. Most of the time what I’m posting about is really personal. I share my feelings, views, and opinions without having to worry about too much backlash but I often wonder what would happen if my family, friends, and acquaintances were reading.

I used to share the link to my blog on Facebook and Instagram so it’s not exactly a secret. My Instagram is weird because I post about my blog on stories but not really on the main feed. I’m so weird about it because so many of my “real life” friends and family follow me on Instagram.

All of this weirdness stems from me being an awkward introvert. I have such a hard time talking about my personal feelings in real life and become super awkward and change the subject ASAP.

I guess the truth is that I’m still trying to figure out how to balance blogging and my personal life. Blogging is something that I’m passionate about but I don’t know how I would feel if everyone knew about and read my blog.

How do you handle blogging?

Footer

Photo by Anete Lūsiņa on Unsplash

 

 

An Honest Life Update

7 Comments

Anxiety, goodnight
Hello, hello

I can’t sleep so I thought I’d hop on the blog and talk about what’s keeping me awake.

For starters, Brett is off on a boy’s trip to Oregon with his friends and it’s storming in Michigan. He’s tracking the weather from his trip but I’m still missing his constant stream of commentary every time it thunders. I’m having a really hard time sleeping without him even though I am enjoying having all the blankets to myself.

I’m also having some extreme anxiety about work. We are very understaffed at work which has lead me to working many long hours. I am fine putting in a lot of work because I know I am making an impact on our client’s lives but lately I cannot seem to catch up. The work keeps on piling up and even though I am working at a crazy fast pace I still can’t get everything done.

I am a perfectionist which is why I am good at my job. I like to take my time and make sure that everything is correct which is hard to do when I am cramming so many tasks into each day. I keep getting angry at myself that I can’t get more work done. I am physically and mentally exhausted by the time I walk to my car at the end of the day.

Today I also found out that I made a huge mistake back in July of 2017. Everyone keeps telling me that it’ll be okay but the problem is that I can’t even remember making the mistake. I’ve been so busy, angry, and frustrated that I haven’t had the time to dwell on anything.

So now I’m sitting in bed thinking about work and wishing that I had brought home my work laptop so I could get a jumpstart on my to-do list for tomorrow.

Does anyone know the definition of work-life balance? Because clearly I do not.

Tomorrow is another day and hopefully it will be better. I want to point out that I do love my job. It’s just busy season and I am still covering a maternity leave. It will get better. I will survive. My team is amazing and I am grateful for this job.

Wish me luck as I try to get some sleep tonight.

Goodnight, my friends! Let me know if you have any tips for falling asleep or anxiety.

 

Lifestyle Blog, Life of Hayley

 

Photo by Alex Jones on Unsplash

Fall Semester So Far

Leave a comment

fallsemestersofar

As of today, there is only one month left of my fall semester! I am happy that it’s almost over but anxious because that means I am leaving for London soon and I am not ready. I don’t even know what day I am leaving yet…

But I will trek on. This semester has proven to be difficult in more than one way. I have been stretched to my breaking point on more than one occasion but I am happy to say that I’ve made it through them all. I have been constantly stressed and worried about classes, homework, grades, exams, and work. This has been my first semester living off campus and working full time so my work-school-life balance has been way off.

What I have enjoyed this semester:

  • I have officially read my whole Web Applications book for my Computer Information Systems class from cover to cover. I’ve never done that before so I am pretty proud of myself!
  • My advanced Economics class is online which has allowed me to take all of the exams online. They are only open for an hour but we have three days to complete them which is really nice because I’m really busy.
  • I love my job and the people that I have met through it. I’m enjoying being able to work during the week instead of just weekends this year.
  • This semester I have been more social than ever before. Like I said in my last post, I have finally found a great group of “college” friends and it is life changing. I finally fit in somewhere and have something to look forward to. It’s a nice change but it makes me sad to leave in a couple of months.

What has been challenging this semester:

  • I have two professors who have been absolutely terrible. I have never in my college career felt this disrespected. I’m angry because I paid a lot of money for these classes and one of the professors is a jerk and the other isn’t qualified to teach the course!
  • Managing my time has been a challenge because I’m trying to balance so many things and I just don’t have the time to do them all! Sometimes when I look at my planner I just want to cry because I still have so much to do.
  • Working so much has really stressed me out. As much as I love my job and want the hours, it’s hard to do everything. I have found myself skipping class to get stuff done because I can’t skip work.

Overall, this semester has been a great one and I am trying to cherish the time I have left in college. It’s a hard time but I know that I will never get these four years back. I love my school and the memories that I have made and am currently making at it!

Thanks for reading!

It’s that time again…

Leave a comment

Itsthattimeagain

Well, if you haven’t already figured it out, school is back in session. This means an endless supply of homework, exams, and reading assignments. This semester I am taking 15 credits which equals 5 classes. One of my classes is online and is the first online class that I have taken since high school!  Here’s a list of my classes for your enjoyment:

  • BCM 3700: Integrated Communication in Businesses
  • CIS 2900: Web Applications for Business
  • ECON 4000: Managerial Economics (Online)
  • FIN 3200: Business Finance
  • HIST 3020: World History to 1500

This is also my first semester pursing my BBA instead of my General Business minor. At my University you spend your first two years working on your General Business minor before being accepted into the program for your major. Classes are definitely harder the last four years….yay!

I am also working this semester… a lot. I requested to work 3-4 days between 25-30 hours a week. So far I have been working 4 days at 33-35 hours a week. I’m not complaining because I really need the money for study abroad. So far I have been able to balance work, school, and my social life. My boss is more than willing to scale down my hours if I become stressed.

My goal is to blog at least once a week during the semester. I really want to grow this blog before I leave for London in January. I want to provide information about my journey including what I packed, what research I am doing, the application process, and all of the adventures along the way! I originally created this blog to document my life and I have been slacking a bit. I am going to try to make blogging a priority this year!

Good luck to everyone as they head back to school! Let’s make this a semester to remember!

Thanks for reading!

Image via picjumbo.com