Hard Work vs. Overwork
What’s the difference between hard work and overwork?
They’re close cousins with different MO’s… and one of them will steal your life if you’re not paying attention.
Hard work looks like cleaning out every inch of the attic to discard the unwanted report cards & unused roller skates, prepping the garden for planting, hitting the project goals for an on-time launch…
even
like that cardio class that you never though you’d live through… but did it anyway.
We all know that feeling of accomplishment, energy and strength that comes from working hard on something that matters deeply- to you or to your company.
There’s contentment at the end of hard work because hard work has a beginning and an end.
There’s a natural pause… a celebration….a win. We can allow rest after a job well done. Hard work moves us toward what matters.
Like a hard rain washes away debris and hard laughter cures the seriousness of it all...
Hard work - done well and with boundaries- can bring you the best of who you are.
Overwork is the more sinister cousin.
The one who takes and takes with NO END IN SIGHT.
The one who whispers that the only way to succeed to do MORE, be MORE, give MORE….even when you KNOW it’s wasted time & effort.
Overwork is the master manipulator- telling us that we HAVE to stay on track, that EVERYONE depends on us… that the project will derail if we take our foot off the gas.
Overwork looks like those bleary-eyed 3 am mornings where you curse the alarm clock, the silent evenings nursing too expensive wine and the face in the mirror that you don’t recognize any more.
There’s no contentment and no rest that accompanies this cycle of dread, rinse, repeat.
There’s a deep exhaustion that’s along for the ride because you KNOW that you’re GIVING TOO MUCH and running on FUMES.
You KNOW the work is mediocre and yet…
the chase for recognition and running after some sense of why it matters at all OVERTAKES everything in its path.
Overwork looks like all those email frenzied 2 ams, the endless spiral of meaningless “to dos,” the weekends where guilt at NOT WORKING takes center stage.
Overwork FEELS like you’re drowning….gasping for air and being buried alive.
Because you are.
Our BODIES know the difference between hard work and overwork. Our HEARTS & SPIRITS do too.
It’s the mind that plays havoc if we’re not paying attention.
There’s nothing good that will come of Overwork …or the habits that tag along
Over-giving, over-reaching, over-giving, over-efforting, over-spending… they all end with….
Broken
Depleted
Spent
GUILTY
…. not recognizing who you are when you’re not working.
So the next time you’re wondering if you’re working hard on what matters or sucked in to the fog of overwork, notice how you FEEL.
Listen to your gut and your heart.
Are you trading your wellbeing for your work
or hanging your identity
on an endless circular paper chase that sucks the life out of the room?
Here are a few questions that I use with clients who are trapped in the web of Overwork that may be useful to you:
Tell me more about how you feel at the end of a work day or work week.
When’s the last time you celebrated a win at work? How did you celebrate?
What matters to you about the work that you’re doing?
Who are you outside of your work? How do you define success in your life?
What are you sacrificing or giving up because of your relationship to your work? Are you working in secret?
Is it true that you can’t work hard and still take care of your own health and wellbeing? Who do you know that does that well?
What would really happen if you stopped working nights and weekends “just to catch up?” Is is true that you’re more effective?
What would you do with your time in the evenings or on the weekend if it weren’t filled with work?
What did you learn about working hard when you were young?
What are you believing about the need for you to OVER work this much? What are you avoiding? What’s the real reason?
Allowing the natural rest that comes after hard work can break the cycle.. Admitting that you’re trapped can help you shift your beliefs.
It’s not that we need to stop working HARD at all. It’s that we need to separate the good hard work from the low value, low return trap of overwork.
Defining the work that BRINGS value in the world- not just more volume.
