Workaholic 

What do you think of when you hear that word, workaholic? I imagine someone who does very little else except work. And ultimately, it doesn’t sound very good for you – especially as a way of life.

But, I have found that there’s also a certain sort of reverence and admiration for those that are “workaholics”. Being completely focused on success and doing whatever necessary to get there.

Now as for me, I’m just not that intense. I enjoy things like sleeping and catching up with friends and occasionally (God forbid), watching television! (Don’t tell the Brian Tracys and Jeffery Gitomers of the world – they’ll probably kick me out of the entrepreneur club!)

Recently, I’ve been giving the idea of work a lot of thought and I have decided I am truly a steady-as-she-goes worker. I’m happy to put in the hours to get a project finished and I work very consistently – evenings, weekends, etc. But at the same time, it has to be at a pace I can maintain.

I had a conversation with Jen who’s a good friend of mine & fellow entrepreneur, and we were discussing just this topic. She was saying that she could easily become a workaholic and that she had to force herself to stop, take breaks and bring more balance into her life. I, on the other hand, didn’t even do all-nighters in college because, you know – sleep! She asked me if I had a huge project due now, would I stay up all night to finish and my response was, “If I have a project that huge with a quick deadline, I’m recruiting all the friends to help so no one is up all night!” Isn’t it funny how we’re all wired differently?

My friend, Darlene, introduced me to someone at a Chamber event a few weeks back and it went like this, “This is Chris Acton – she weaves all the time!” I was so stunned and flattered that it was her perception of me! I don’t know about you, but there’s a little voice that tends to whisper that I could always be doing more. So, hearing a respected colleague’s vision of me as someone who works hard was a lovely gift!

Last weekend, I wanted to knock out a custom project. It wasn’t a very big one, but it did include some unknown elements – meaning I would need more time to sit back and evaluate as I go, versus simply ploughing through it.

I finished the project in 3 days, putting in roughly 18 hours total, with some lovely results! Would that be considered a “workaholic” pace? Probably not. But, I’m feeling accomplished and there’s still juice in the tank for the next one. So, I’m definitely calling it a win! You know what they say about slow and steady…

How do you tackle your everyday work? Do you have a touch of the workaholic in you?