As I was heading out of the office yesterday, I stopped by to chat it up with some other young guns before leaving. One of them asked if I was taking work home at which point I looked down and realized that I had my laptop in the bag hanging off of my shoulder. It had been like this since last Friday, so I didn't even realize what they were talking about. I quickly rattled off the names of some of the clients who I have project work that needs to be completed asap to try and justify me having my laptop with me and not wanting to appear as a lame slave to the corporate system. His response was classic:
Dude, that is one can of worms you do not want to open.
That is very true. Like the deliciously flavored snack that comes in a tube, Pringles, once you pop you can't stop. One of my new year's resolutions was to make a strong attempt at not working weekends or nights. Work will always be there in the morning regardless of if you work until the wee hours of the night trying to complete work. If you finish a project early, it will be replaced by another project with a new set of deadlines.
In college and all of my years in the halls of academia preceding the last four years, I was the type of student who could not and would not procrastinate. The times when it did come down to the wire, I usually pumped out some of my most focused and greatest reports or project material. Even with the better results it was just something that I wasn't comfortable with, and enjoyed the feeling of being finished before the deadline. Only then could I truly relax and quit worrying. It was a psychological reward - a dog treat for the brain.
In the workplace, there is no reward for finishing early in terms of mental "time off". I've been trying to get the block schedule going - 2 weeks on and 1 week off, then repeat - but cannot seem to get any serious support for some reason. The next project in the pipeline is coming your way, and the same pitfalls, deadlines, and other stress factors have to be overcome again.
The best way to manage the "always on" project cycle is to to leave work at the office. If you work remotely, start and stop your work along with normal business hours. In any traditional and conservative business, this is the only way to stay slightly sane on weekdays.
From now on, I invite anyone who sees me taking work with me to remove my laptop bag from me (use force if necessary, although I may come at you like a spider monkey), return it to my desk, and escort me to my vehicle ensuring that the can of worms remain sealed for all time.
