*This post was originally written on Friday, September 26. One of those days were I just needed to blog-vent (bvent?) Anyways...
I'm not gonna lie, this past week at work was really challenging. The nature of the industry I'm in is very erratic: highs and lows, lots of work at once and then periods of twiddling your thumbs, high-stress and then periods of waiting. This past week was one of those high-stress weeks; as the saying goes, when it rains it pours, and last week it rained cats and dogs.
I'm not the type of person to get stressed out by much-- for the most part, I consider myself very even-keel. Why make a big deal out of something that doesn't need to be? Life is easier when you don't sweat the small stuff.
But, for whatever reason, work-related stuff, especially at the job I'm at now, doesn't follow that trend. So many times, I'll find myself stressed to the max over something that happened with a client, a mistake I made, or an upcoming project. In fact, about one month after I started working at my office, I underwent two (two!) trips to the emergency rooms for severe migraines, and suffered them on and off for about a month. (Still haven't found the strength to write that blog post...).
But why do I care so much? Why can't I just do the work, take the ups and downs without getting so emotionally invested? Wouldn't it be easier if I just took a step back and perceived my job for what it is? (A job). I used to be one of those people who would console others: coworkers, friends, family, who were stressed out by some work-related issue. "It's just work." "At the end of the day, it's just work." "It will be there in the morning." But now I find myself on the other end of the spectrum.
Maybe that's what makes me good at my job. Because I care. Maybe too much. To be honest, I don't know how to approach what I do any other way. I get frustrated when my boss handles clients so casually and disinterestedly, but maybe I should be taking a page from him rather than getting irked. I don't really know.
For now, my immediate goals are to work on delegating more, and trying to leave work at work. It won't be easy, but it's a start.
Does anyone else struggle with the same thing? How do you cope with work stress?
Labels: career
