Leslie's posts Leslie on 22 Dec 2006 05:49 am
“Work is what you do for others, liebchen…..”
The other objective is Big. It’s the RealLife vs. WorkLife balance issue. About setting and holding boundaries so that my job does not eat me alive.
This is a philosophy that I preach to colleagues and staff, but I fail to “walk the walk”. I get 3 weeks vacation each year; this is the 2nd year that I have failed to use it. And I think I’m ending 2006 with about 5-6 weeks of unused comp time. Just like last year.
Is my job really that important in my life? Am I really that important to the organization that I work for? Have I fallen into the trap of the Illusion of Indispensibility? (I worked for an opera company once, so I have observed this Illusion of Indispensibility firsthand, with a big musical soundtrack. It’s actually an occupational malady for arts administrators in all disciplines.)
What about you? Has your WorkLife chewed you up and spit you out so that your RealLife is a distant 2nd place on your To Do List?
Sometimes I think in extreme examples, so let me tell you that I’m trying to Think about this: what would happen to my Job if I died today?
What would happen to YOUR Job if You died today?
So maybe we shouldn’t let our Jobs kill us? Maybe it shouldn’t be a “Worklife” - only a job. What you do for a living shouldn’t be confused with your actual Life, right?
“Work is what you do for others, liebchen - art is what you do for yourself.” - Stephen Sondheim
More art, please. More artful Lives.
