Are you Over Overtime?

Tweak Your Biz » Management » Are you Over Overtime?

Are you Over Overtime?

by Anthea Newburn on June 21st, 2010
35 Comments

So it’s only Tuesday night and you are still at the office, or you are on the Blackberry at home. Does this sound like a familiar story?

We often work long and crazy hours under the guise of urgent responsibilities, important people making demands and requests that can’t wait till the morning. Is this a sign of our own self-importance or the belief that we work to live? Take a moment to think about your life, your approach to work and how it defines you.

How do others react to your overtime? Maybe your partner, family or housemates are so accustomed to your habits that they don’t count on seeing you during daylight hours. Have friends stopped calling you to catch up for that pint? And how has your life changed in the last 4 years (both for the better and worse)? Have sports become a thing of the past? Does relaxation time mean the drive to work listening to the radio? Does the idea of taking a holiday bring you out in a rash?

Taking in the big picture, ‘work’ is only an element of your life and doesn’t define all of who you are – or does it? Most people have family, friends, hobbies, other non-work commitments, sport, and personal things like health, money and their home feature too. If you look at the time we contribute to our work it becomes a massive part of life, however, looking at the rest of the time and how effectively you use it is probably more critical. None of us like spending the weekend catching up on hovering, laundry and shopping.

So how can you make the most of your leisure time? How would others around you like to spend time with you? What would be meaningful for you right now? And what would be beneficial to you and your health?

Remember overtime can be a habit – both yours and the business’. Change your habit and build a fulfilling and balanced existence.

Category: HR and recruitment, Leadership, motivation, Self- development

Tags: long hours, managing time, overtime, stress, work

The Author: Anthea Newburn

Anthea is a qualified life coach who is passionate about stress management and emotional intelligence. She works with individuals and groups to enhance their personal and work lives with a holistic view of where they are now & where they want to be. Having experienced a busy corporate career herself she can empathize with her clients. Her background is in hospitality and human resources. http://awaken.ie

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http://twitter.com/fredchannel Fred

Good one Anthea. I believe constant overtime has little to do with work overload and more with “control”. People reach a point in which they believe they must be at their desk as much as possible so they can be in full control, in order to know what’s happening the entire time. The problem with this is that they don’t stop to ask themselves: “does this make sense?”
http://www.btbtraining.com/blog Niall Devitt

Great reminder Anthea, I lost the run of myself before Xmas (excuse the expression) with regards to working too much. I failed to give myself enough downtime, I’m now glad to report that I have sorted myself out & my life management skills have improved significantly
Anonymous

Interesting read Anthea and I found myself nodding away throughout. I remember going to a Wealthmasters talk before and Joan Baker (super lady) was saying pretty much what you said but she added that 20% of what we do is actually effective, the other 80% is potential free time! Thanks for that
Anonymous

Great post Anthea. From the perspective of someone who has always worked in an organisation, I think expectations can sometimes be set by the culture of where you are working. In my career to date, and especially in my current company I have always been fortunate that the emphasis has been on maintaining a healthy balance between work and personal life. With that said, it is not always a given and I guess this becomes even more difficult for people who work for themselves.

For me the key to making most of our leisure time is good planning. If you plan your year/month/week/day from a work perspective, then it is equally important to plan your leisure time so you get the most out of it. Having just come back from some time off on holidays, I have to say that putting some thought into your leisure time is very important.

See my most recent blog post on this topic – http://tweakyourbiz.com/management/2010/06/22/take-time-to-recharge-your-batteries/.
Facundo

Very fresh Tina,nI think there’s room for a second post where you cover making the relationship last, or ups and downs & why not a few couple arguments and how to deal with them
http://www.ivanwalsh.com Ivan Walsh

Nice way of framing it, Christina.nnAnd like all courtships there will be ups and downs especially when the novelty factor wears off.
http://www.cgonlinemarketing.com/ Christina Giliberti

Part two could very well be the ‘children’ of a social media relationship Tori.rnThese could be the concepts, ideas and events which are produced.
http://www.cgonlinemarketing.com/ Christina Giliberti

Hi Facundo,rnrnI did think along those lines – there definately is scope to deal with the ‘darker’ side of social media. Reputation and perception, critical decision-making, dealing with bad comments. rnPart two can be your christmas present!rnrnThanks
http://www.cgonlinemarketing.com/ Christina Giliberti

Hello there Ivan,rnrnYes indeed. There is a huge novelty factor and this is where social media matures and we mature with it. Its isn’t always promising relationships, growth, profit or interaction. There are negatives attached and I promise to explore and write on these.
http://www.btbtraining.com/blog Niall Devitt

Like this a lot Christina, sometimes the simplest explanations are also the most effective. With your permission of course, Ill be using courtship analogy
http://www.seefincoaching.com/blog Elaine Rogers

Some of this sounds very much like a few online “relationships” I know of nnIt was beginning to feel a bit like a three some there for a while, until you mentioned “Weu2019re like a big happy family”.nnI am glad you didn’t cover the courtship “breakdown” and divorce, we need lots of positivity these days, and to think of Social Media as a positive entity is a must, if it is to survive.nnReally enjoyed the post, Christina thanks
http://www.encouragingexcellence.ie/ Mairu00e9ad Kelly

I love the analogy Tina, such a lovely way to describe it and it all makes perfect sense when described that way too.
http://twitter.com/garious1 Garious

Yes, social media is like getting into a relationship — because.. it’s all about relationships and making them meaningful in the first place! A lot of businesses fail because they’re thinking that social media is like a digital billboard for their brands. It’s all about engagement these days and what value you can give to your audience.
http://twitter.com/shw72388 Samantha Wannemacher

Great blog post, Christina, with sound advice for building relationships and truly engaging with other in the social media world! I have to agree one of the most important is remaining loyal, because this seems to be where many fall off in social media, especially on Twitter.nnI had to chuckle when I saw your post because I recently wrote a blog titled “Why You Should Pursue Media Relationships Like You Would Any Other Relationship” (http://blogstorytelling.wordwritepr.com/?p=525) that compares building media relationships to a developing romantic relationship, much like your parallel here with social media! Great minds must think alike!
http://www.cgonlinemarketing.com/ Christina Giliberti

Its funny isn’t it, but so true!
http://www.cgonlinemarketing.com/ Christina Giliberti

Hi there Samantha,nnWe truely are one of a kind! nnIts easy to ‘Like’ but what keeps you returning? This is the key thinking behind retaining loyalty. Keep asking ‘why’ and ‘what can I do to bring people back’.nnWho said romance was dead! ; 0 )
http://twitter.com/shw72388 Samantha Wannemacher

My thoughts exactly! Loyalty and persistence are some of the key differences in a courtship between moving from an initial attraction to a relationship. I think our comparisons to this philosophy in terms of social media and media relations is pretty accurate!nnMaybe we did learn some things from past relationships, after all?
http://www.cgonlinemarketing.com/ Christina Giliberti

Spot on! Its not about visitors or followers per sei, its about connections, interaction and loyalty. Value is measured by meaningful conversations and business.
http://www.cgonlinemarketing.com/ Christina Giliberti

Many different angles to cover. Everything has a plus and a minus….but I’m all for the positive pluses at the moment. They far outweigh the negatives.
http://www.cgonlinemarketing.com/ Christina Giliberti

Go for it…..I coined a phase, yipee!
http://www.sianphillips.ie Sian Phillips

Thanks Niall. I agree partly with you – after all I did write the Working 9 to 5 post In some businesses starting off it’s hard not to be available in case you lose a customer. However in what I do now it isn’t so much being available but me knowing there is a file of accounts sitting there to be done. And the sooner it’s done the more time I’ll have to do other work and therefore earn more. I don’t like work hanging over me so sometimes it’s hard not to just carry on and do those accounts but I am getting better at taking time out.
http://write-on-track.com Lorna

Good article Sian and as an at home worker, I know how hard it can be to switch off but the pro’s definitely outweigh the cons
http://www.sianphillips.ie Sian Phillips

Thanks Lorna. I certainly agree with you
Sue

Nice article, Sian. As a virtual assistant I like the flexibility working from home brings. Sometimes I use a timer to keep me on task. I do a lot of networking which gets me out and around people. It’s a great way to share ideas and learn new things as well as bringing in more work. It doesn’t work for everyone but I wouldn’t trade it for an office job again.
Aileen O’Meara

HI Sian, I liked your article about working from home.
As an independent producer and journalist, I worked from home for five years up to last January, when I moved to an office here in York Road, in south Dublin.
The five years based at home were great – I had (still have!) a dedicated office space in a converted attic, away from the hustle and bustle of the home, and it worked great for me while my children were smaller.
Now that my business has expanded, (and the children have too! – well, upwards anyway!), I find the home base too restrictive. Because I do media skills training as well as radio programmes and videos, I found I needed a dedicated training space, as well as studio space.
I have been lucky to find an office near home so the commute is short, but it is great to have the energy of other colleagues, as well as being able to leave the house and feel more like a “real” worker.
One of the disadvantages I found about working from home is that people (friends, family, neighbours..) don’t respect your work hours in the same way as they would if you you were in an office.
But one of the real advantages of being home-based is the flexibility to work when you have the time, whether that’s early morning or late evening.
http://www.cgonlinemarketing.com/ Christina Giliberti

Hi Sian,

You’re right – there are pluses and minues to working from home. I definately like the fact that there’s no commute and no need to dress up. I do feel though that it can take over a bit. You lose that distinction between home life and work life.
http://www.de-stress4life.com/ Catherine Connors

Great post Sian, there are pro’s and con’s to every working situation and you’ve hit the nail on the head with working from home, when I do use the home office I find that I am more easily distracted by the little jobs that are waiting for me around the home.
http://translationjobsfromhome.com Translation Jobs

I am a stay at home mum and really wouldn`t know what to do with myself if I didn`t have a job.
http://www.leadsandappointments.com/ Francis Kent

Excellent article! You really have nailed down what marketers should be doing in order to make their events much more profitable.
http://www.facebook.com/elish.bulgodley Elish Bul-Godley

Thanks Janine. I hope it will be a great tool in the future, a practical nuts and bolts checklist that will see you through any event. Stay tuned for the next instalments on what to do During one.
http://www.facebook.com/elish.bulgodley Elish Bul-Godley

Thanks Francis . I believe in Events the Marketing and Sales functions are harder to seperate – there should be a telepathic connection between the 2 especially at planning stage
John Abrena

Awesome post Elish. A lot of online marketers today do not care about their company’s events, since some people from other countries where the events are held. They don’t know that they can play a vital role in the events through social media (as you suggested here) and CTAs. Good points, thumbs up!
http://www.facebook.com/elish.bulgodley Elish Bul-Godley

Cheers for the Response! Yep some sales principles apply regardless of whether you are doing an event online or offline. Its all about the groundwork. Lots of online marketeers need to bear in mind that any campaign has to be approached holisitcally so if an event is happening in one department the online team has to be integrated too.
http://www.thesmarttrain.com/ Elaine Rogers

Bumper post Elish – fantastic tips, a post well worth bookmarking, and checking back as an event is being planned and prepped.
Thank you!
Elish Bul

Coming from a coaching expert like you, that’s grea news. Yes intended it as a working resource for any event

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