Beyond the Office Walls

This is the time of year when it feels like work is consuming my life. We have a big conference at the end of February that has about a million and one moving parts and we're all working hard to bring it all together without pulling our hair out or being at each other's throats. After the conference I'll be in the thick of preparations for an awards banquet, and on top of that I'm working on a major design makeover for our main publication. Of course, there are plenty of other projects that crop up from day to day as well--in other words, never a dull moment at our office.

When work is this demanding, most days I come home physically and mentally spent, drained of all creative thought and most coherent thought. On those days I generally want to come home, put on my pajamas, eat dinner and watch TV until bedtime. After being around people all day I usually just want to be alone and not talk to anyone except for my dog.

I'm trying, however, to pull myself out of that routine and be more social. I get a ton of social interaction at work, but I need to think beyond the confines of the office and do more with friends outside of work. Our small groups are starting back up at church and I'm planning to check one out next week (I intended to go tonight but ended up working late on a project for the aforementioned conference). I'm trying to make more of an effort to do social activities on the weekend. I've sent an inquiry to a local charitable organization about volunteer opportunities and am waiting to hear back from them.

Most of the time I love my job and am extremely thankful to be doing what I'm doing and working where I'm working. However, I don't want my job to become my identity. I used to have more of a life outside of work and I'm ready to reclaim that life. Wish me luck!