1513: When Your Work Life is Destroying Your Good Life by Courtney Carver of Be More With Less on Well-Being

[00:00:00] This is Optimal Work Daily, When Your Work Life is Destroying Your Good Life by Courtney Carver of BeMoreWithLess.com.

[00:00:10] Before I left a 20-year career in advertising and marketing, I had many days where I thought things like,

[00:00:16] I'm at the end of my rope. I'll never make it through the day. This will never get done. I'm too busy to function. I have nothing left to give.

[00:00:26] Dramatic? Perhaps. Honest? Yes. So, I stayed up late, worked through lunch, and kept piling it on.

[00:00:34] I knew I could do it all. I was proud of doing it all. While I may have been able to do it all at work,

[00:00:40] on reflection, I can see that other things and other areas of my life were quietly suffering.

[00:00:45] When you fall out of love with your work or your job is wearing you down,

[00:00:49] the destruction is often so gradual that you can't respond to it. You know something isn't right,

[00:00:54] but it doesn't have a name or a solution. When you start thinking or saying words like

[00:01:00] exhausted, trapped, and hopeless, it's time for a change.

[00:01:04] Today, while I run my own micro-business and have the enormous blessing of choosing creative projects

[00:01:09] I love and working with people I love, I still have days, like today, where everything seems to be happening at once.

[00:01:16] This morning, I looked at my list of things to do and felt the pressure of a crazy day approaching.

[00:01:21] With several projects in different stages and a trip to Austin tomorrow morning, I'm feeling a little overwhelmed.

[00:01:28] The way I see it, I have two choices. One, I can work all day and into the night and try to wrap

[00:01:33] everything up before I leave tomorrow morning. Two, I can remember why I walked away from a regular paycheck,

[00:01:40] work for a few hours, and then take my daughter to lunch. Both choices require compromise.

[00:01:45] With option one, I will make small sacrifices in health, time with family, and the quality of my work.

[00:01:52] Maybe no one will notice, but I'll know. With option two, I'll compromise my deadlines and perhaps

[00:01:58] some free time over the weekend. If you work for someone else, you might not have the same choices,

[00:02:03] but you do have options. If you are overwhelmed or unhappy at work, think about incorporating a few

[00:02:10] of the following strategies. For a better work life, leave the office. If you work in a structured

[00:02:16] office setting that is a high-stress environment, leave the office during your workday. Walk away

[00:02:21] from your desk and go outside for a 15-minute walk. Fresh air and movement will relieve some of your

[00:02:26] tension. Stand while you work. Create a makeshift stand-up desk so you have an alternative to sitting

[00:02:33] all day. You don't need anything fancy. My standing desk is pictured in the post. Standing will improve

[00:02:39] your health and may even increase your creativity and productivity. As Rob Schwartz, chief creative

[00:02:46] officer of ad agency TBWA Chiat DLA, suggests, quote, you get more done when you're standing up.

[00:02:54] When you're sitting, you're naturally recessive. You're receiving. When you're standing,

[00:02:59] you're ready to do something, end quote. Uncommiserate. If you don't like your job,

[00:03:05] you probably work with people who are unhappy at work too. It's nice to know you

[00:03:09] aren't alone, but break the habit of complaining and commiserating. Misery loves company, and the

[00:03:15] more company you have, the more miserable you will be. Journal your frustration. If your boss treats

[00:03:22] you like c**t or you have to sit through mindless meetings, write about it privately. There is hope

[00:03:27] in ink on paper. Ask about an alternative schedule. Switching your schedule up can have a big impact on

[00:03:34] your workflow and attitude towards your job. Ask about leaving an hour early or starting an hour

[00:03:39] late. If you don't ask, you'll never know. Plan your escape. Maybe you aren't in a position to walk

[00:03:46] away from a stressful job, but you can start something new. When I started this site, I was still working

[00:03:52] full-time and dreading every Monday morning meeting. Starting something new while initially more work

[00:03:58] gave me something to look forward to and be excited about. One year and five months later, I lost my

[00:04:04] job on purpose to do work I love. I'm so glad I didn't wait another day or month or year to get

[00:04:11] started. Life is too good to stay at a bad job for too long. While there are unlovable tasks in every

[00:04:18] career, when you start to do work you really care about, it feels less like a job and more like a piece

[00:04:24] of the good life you so deserve. If you were wondering about my dilemma from earlier, I picked option

[00:04:30] two and took my daughter out to lunch. I'm delivering this post a little late and there will be a few

[00:04:35] things I won't get to today. On the upside, I'll be refreshed and excited for my trip tomorrow and will

[00:04:41] get back to my work rested, motivated, and creatively charged. You just listened to the post titled

[00:04:51] When Your Work Life is Destroying Your Good Life by Courtney Carver of BeMoreWithLess.com

[00:04:58] And hey, a big thanks to Courtney Carver for letting us share her work. She's actually an

[00:05:02] author who gave us permission a long time ago, starting with our very first show, Optimal Living

[00:05:07] Daily. In 2006, Courtney was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and while it doesn't define her or her

[00:05:14] blog, it has had a huge impact on her life and it led her to create BeMoreWithLess as well as author books,

[00:05:21] create courses, and much, much more. She also created the popular minimalist fashion challenge,

[00:05:26] Project 333. And her diagnosis has led her to make changes in her life that paved the way for an

[00:05:32] incredible journey of love, health, and simplicity. It's a story worth hearing from her, so come check

[00:05:39] out her site and everything she has to offer. That's BeMoreWithLess.com and you can also hear a

[00:05:45] lot of her minimalism-related posts being narrated for you over on Optimal Living Daily. But that does it

[00:05:51] for me today. I thank you so much for being a subscriber to the show. Hope you have a great

[00:05:55] rest of your day and I'll see you right back here for the Friday show tomorrow. That's where your optimal

[00:06:00] life awaits.