Why a JOB should NEVER be your #1 priority!

The topic that we love to hate. Work! We hate it, we envy it, we are fed up with it, we will search high and low to find it and even though we never stop complaining about it, every month when we get paid, we can’t seem to live without it.

Growing up, all I ever saw was older people around me working. I couldn’t wait to be one of them. I couldn’t wait to wake up and get ready every morning, so I could rush on the busy train commute to work. I couldn’t wait to get wait to be in a massive office with hundreds of people working and looking out my window and seeing an incredible view of London’s skylines. But it was far from that! Ever since I hit the legal age to work I have never found somewhere that values me, my time, my efforts. I found myself moving from job to job, some experiences good and others were a complete and utter nightmare. But one thing that I did learn from those experiences and being in the working environment is NEVER prioritise your 9-5 more than other important things happening in your life.

To many of these companies that we work for we are replaceable. One false move and that’s it. You’re out. It’s sad – but for many places that’s how the system works. I know – I’ve been there. This is why it is always important to put yourself and the most important things and people in front of a job.

We feel like our whole lives is centred around having a job. We spend approximately an hour each way travelling into work, spend 8 hours or sometimes more at work, come home and gossip about what a cheeky bitch your manager is and then wake up and do it all over again. But when we suddenly get sacked, made redundant or get a disciplinary, we become heartbroken – devastated in fact. You think how will i ever go on. (Talk about drama). This is an example of making your 9-5 job your everything.

 

 

Here are 5 steps on how to not put your job first:

1. Spend time with the people closest to you

Sometimes with the hustle and bustle of work, we get so caught up in with the day to day duties and the hardships that some work environments can bring, that we often forget about spending time with the people we love the most. We make excuses that we are tired, busy and just generally do not have the time anymore. By doing this, you are allowing your job to have a negative impact to those you consider close to you. Never be this person. Always take the time out to put them first before your work, because the time will come when you need them just as much as they needed you.

 

2. Never bring work life home with you

This is something we can’t help sometimes. You have been wound up all day and when you finally get home its like an explosion has suddenly occurred. You can finally get whatever it is that was dying to come out of your chest. But I have realised that when we do this, we are bringing everything we experienced at work and all of our so called “work drama” into the comfort of our homes. A place that is meant to be our sanctuary is being distressed by work life. I know it can be hard, but practice before you step inside your front door to leave your work life outside. This can not only affect the relationships that you share with your close ones inside your home, but it can also affect yourself.

 3. Take up an extra activity

By taking up an extra activity like going to the gym, signing up to a yoga class, going to dance class – this can be a way to relax our minds and focus on something else. Sometimes we need this! An extra activity can do a lot for us, especially if we find ourselves so consumed in our work life. 

 4. Develop a skill that you feel very passionate about

Many times, when we start working we tend to lose focus of the things we are passionate about. Make it a priority to set some time out so that you can focus on developing the things that you find passionate about. If you don’t know, then get a notepad out and start writing down all the things that you loved to do but no longer do them anymore. You never know, that skill could lead to something profitable in the long run!

 5. Have FUN!

THIS IS SIMPLE! But why do we fail to do it so often. We are still young, so making sure that happiness and having fun is still at the centre of our lives among everything is so vital. We work so hard on a day to day basis that we forget to have fun until we realise that we are drained on every level imaginable. Even if it means taking a short trip with your friends for the weekend to enjoy and explore parts of the world you’ve always wanted to see – then go for it.

 

Love,