Many people in this age, forget what it means to have fun. There are a lot of people take their job too seriously, so that they become depressed or have a broken relationship with the family members and friends. Seems that the things that we are doing for the sake of the family, is making things worse for the whole family.

Are you taking your job too seriously? Do you spend more time with your job, compare with your significant others? I’m not saying only your spouse and kids only, but up to your parents at least. It is even harder when we love our job, so that we don’t really mind to work extra hour.

I am guilty of this. I think that I work hard so that I can made a living for my family. But it’s taking it’s toll when I spend too much time at work and not at home. I usually get off to work at 8 in the morning and I reach home by 8 or 8.30pm. Most of the time, i feel tired and just want to relax by myself. I am there, but my mind wander around. It’s like my body is there, but not my mind. Have you ever feel that way?

These are the things that I learn
1. Set a time to stop working
I believe that work will never be enough. There’s always something else that you need to do. So, decide a time to stop. It is better to stop right on the dot of official working time. I know that it’s hard for me, but I’m trying to leave at most 30 minutes after the official working hour. It’s successful sometimes, but not all the time. but by setting the time to go off, help to reduce the number of over time work.

2. Remember why you are doing this
I’m sure you are working because of a goal or some goals. Maybe it’s to provide for your family, to have money to go overseas for holiday, to buy a house, to just have some money to buy something that you like, or something else. What does it for, when you want to do it or have it, but you don’t have time to enjoy it. I’m not saying that you should quit your job just to enjoy it, but most of the time, after you reach your goal, you hardly enjoy it, because of the time that you spend in office.

3. Work is a rubber ball
I learned this from an analogy about juggling. We are in a sense like a juggler. Each responsibility that we have is represented by a ball. work, family, friends, etc. The analogy highlight only for work and family. family is a ball made of glass. When you dropped it, it will cracked or even shattered. but work is a rubber ball. When you dropped it, it will bounce back. No matter how important, you feel you are, you are dispensable. The company that you work for, will be able to find a replacement for you and me. What if you are the owner of the company? Well, I only know one example. Even Steve Job lost his job when he’s the owner of Apple.

I’m sure many people has write something similar to this. They have tried or even trying to remind you to prioritize your life or to give a better perspective about work. I’m hoping that you can learn to see work differently and to remember that there are other things that are more important than your work.

At the end, I have a wish that I can have fun while I’m working. At least, it will keep me sane. Most of the time, it’s not possible. But when it’s possible, I’ll enjoy it. Have you ever try to have fun at your work? I’d like to share this video of a viral video that showed that even in a job that seems very serious, you still able to have fun.

Luke 12: 20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?” (for complete story, please read Luke 12: 13-21)