You have a dozen things to do before it’s time for breakfast. You finish as much as you can, but it’s all still not done. But you need to be at work on time, so you rush out, grabbing a slice of toast and stuffing it into your mouth hastily on the way. You get into your car, and try to play the music you like, but the traffic is so heavy that you’re barely paying attention in the hope of getting to work on time. You make it in the nick of time and rush to your desk, where you find a whole lot of other things that need doing. You go through the day with your attention divided between many tasks, until you realise that it’s time to leave. By the time you’re home, you only want to crash.

A work-life balance is what’s missing, to help you find a way to juggle many balls while also taking good care of yourself. You might think this isn’t the case with you. But hold on. Here are a few things you need to keep an eye out for, to see that you don’t fall in the trap of all-work-and-no-play:

– You have no time for friends and family, and don’t show up to spend time with them on special occasions. By no time, it could also mean that you don’t spend time having quality conversations with them on the phone, or in person. There may also be a repetitive pattern of cancelling plans at the last moment in pursuit of work demands.

– You are always complaining about work. Whether it is your boss or the sheer volume of work that you are saddled with, you have something or the other to nitpick about when it comes to your career. You have no mental space for anything else.

– You are constantly in touch with all your work communiqué. Be it through emails on your smart phone or tablet, or a perennially switched on computer, you simply cannot stay away from checking in on your work email to see if you’re needed for anything.

– You have no room for hobbies because you think it eats into your work time. You do not exercise, or indulge in activities that take you out of the work sphere. Even when you do indulge in the one off event of this kind, you find yourself feeling very anxious and jumpy about not being on top of your game with work.

– You fall ill a lot – and they’re not major illnesses, but rather immunity related issues like colds, stomach infections and anxiety headaches. You find yourself popping pills by the number, and generally feel tired most of the time.

If you find yourself fitting into this niche, beware of where you are leading yourself. This is not a good situation to be in, admittedly a part of it is your own doing in not letting your personal needs have a place in your life. Work is, of course, a vital part of your life, but it isn’t everything. Step back a bit, and live in the moment. You have only one life to live, and it isn’t any use if you’re letting yourself down a spiral of ill-health.

References:

http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-18290/7-signs-you-need-to-work-less-play-more.html