You know...I like what I do. I enjoy being an engineer. I like being involved in the development of the city I live in and making sure that that development is good development and not crap. I get to work on some really interesting projects. I get to play in traffic (I'm a traffic engineer who often gets to count cars, measure roads, and take pictures while in active traffic), go to places I may not get to go otherwise (i.e. Red Dog mine, Juneau, Sitka, etc.), and generally just have "the know" when it comes to new stores and restaurants and roads that are being built in my city. I really do like it.
That being said, I do not live to work. Never in my life have I ever said that I wanted my job to be my life. Being an engineer is what I do, not who I am. And I hate being expected to work my life away. Sometimes I feel as though it is expected for me to work MANY additional hours to get a project out the door that came to me last minute due to poor planning. That is when I want to use a saying my dad used to say. "Lack of preparation on your part does not constitute an emergency on mine." I want to kiss whoever said that first. Why is it that people think that by coming to me last minute, that all of sudden I will feel like working 12 hour days to help them get their project out the door. In all honesty, I do care. But I also care about my life. I still want to sleep, and work out, and cook dinner, and see the man I love, and spend time with my needy cats....I still have my life to live. I take it very personally when someone comes to me with something that will require me to work a lot of extra hours. When I am given ample time and warning on a project, I am usually able to coordinate most of the work within normal business hours. I have had to work a long day or three. I have had to bring stuff home with me so that I wasn't constantly being interrupted like I am at work. But overall, I work diligently enough that I can complete my projects in my work hours. I plan it that way because, once again, I like living my life.
I guess some people could say that I need to find my passion and find a job that makes it feel that I am not working so that I could work endlessly and be happy. But I would still want to work out and cook and go out with friends and spend time with my love and my cats...I would still have a life outside of work. What can I say? I like having a life separate from my work. It works for me.
1 comment:
Amen...I actually use to have a sign in my office that read that exact same quote (and found myself glancing up at it more than once when someone would come to me at 4:45 on a Friday with something that couldn't wait until Monday.) Regardless of how much you love your job, or even how much you love your co-workers (I did both when I was working outside the home) work absolutely should not become your life. Even if you have a job that you adore, a job that is your passion, you still need to have time that isn't work...what's that saying...All work and no play...
It's all about balance, and that can be very hard to find, especially with people pulling at you from every angle.
((hugs))
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