The Perils of Overwork.

It can harm and even destroy your life. Here’s how.

Brooke Meredith
6 min readJan 24, 2020

--

from Neonbrand on Unsplash.com

Consider the time you spend each day on various activities. Most people work eight, nine, or ten-hour days. Then potentially go to the gym, come home, eat dinner, walk the dog (if they have one), watch television, and potentially spend a bit of time with friends or a significant other.

Now, assume one works more hours than the above, so it looks something like this: work an eight, nine, or ten-hour day. Skip the gym and do work during the commute home on your cell or laptop, continuing to field emails and texts from your boss and colleagues. Eat a quick dinner, walk the dog, then spend a bit of time with your significant other or family, and do more work for a few hours before bed. That would look something like this.

Image created by Brooke Meredith from meta-chart.com

Of course, these numbers will differ for everyone. This was an estimate. These will also vary per day by each person.

What I am getting at though is this: take a look at the blue. All of that is related to work. Both, being at work physically and then doing work from home, which also includes continually checking work emails or responding to work-related texts.

Now, consider the time (shown as pink) which one might allot to quality, focused, and fun time with their significant other on a routine basis. It is, but a sliver of the daily whole.

Most people today spend the vast majority of their waking lives on work. The thing that is supposed to be a means to fund the rest of our life- which many of us no longer have.

A few decades ago, people went to work for the day, worked hard, then they came home and were home for the evening, and for the weekends. They were not still texting their bosses (and couldn’t as cell phones didn’t exist). They were not still fielding work emails. It was assumed that the evenings and weekends were the working men and working women’s private time to themselves. A respite and break, completely away from work. You know, that other aspect of life?

--

--

Brooke Meredith

Ravenous reader. Social scientist. Foodie. Novelist. Adventurer. Romantic and idealist. www.sweetrawfree.com www.travelsandtrdelnik.com www.brunchesandbooks.com