When work weighs on you
I can't stand my work anymore
My friend, on Sunday evening your stomach tightens, and on Monday morning you leave as if to pay a debt. Maybe the work drains you, maybe the people there, maybe you feel you've ended up doing something that has nothing to do with you anymore. It is not ingratitude to want something else. But you don't have to throw everything away tomorrow either. First separate the threads: what exactly hurts, the tasks, the boss, the hours, or the lack of meaning? Sometimes one thread changes and the rest becomes bearable. Sometimes a different road is needed, and that road is prepared in small steps, not with a slammed door.
Questions for you
What weighs on me most: what I do, whom I work with, or how I work?
A possible answerEach has a different remedy. The work itself changes with another role, the people with another team, and the way of working can be negotiated. Don't throw everything away over a single thread.
Which part of the day still gives me a little life?
A possible answerEven in hard work there is a piece that reaches you: a person helped, a problem solved, an hour of quiet. That's a sign of what to look for next.
What small step can I take this month toward something else?
A possible answerA course, a talk with someone in another field, an updated CV, some money put aside. Preparing calms you, even if leaving is still far off.
How do I protect myself until then?
A possible answerPut edges between work and the rest of your life: an hour without the work phone, a walk after hours, weekends that belong to you. Don't let the job take what isn't its to take.
Tonight's practice
Draw three columns on a page: “What I do”, “With whom”, “How”. In each, write what weighs on you and what you like. See where the weight gathers.
A thought to keep
“Don't slam the door. Prepare the road.”
Open this moment in the interactive guide