Carl Godfrey
A Workaholic’s Guide to Reclaiming Your Life
September 10, 2024
Summary.
Workaholism is when work dominates your thoughts and your activities, to the detriment of other aspects of your life, including but not limited to your relationships and your health. In this article, Malissa Clark presents depictions of workaholism and equips readers with six coping strategies to break the cycle. Through mechanisms such as redefining what is and is not urgent, fixing the workaholic clock, and embracing rest and recovery, workaholics can unlearn toxic behaviors and reclaim their time and lives.
My daughter, Alex, was born three years into my PhD program, smack in the middle of midterms. I was at a coffee shop, scrambling to complete a take-home exam, when my contractions started. I told myself I would continue until they were consistent, which bought me several more hours, until the pain was unbearable. I reluctantly stopped working and headed home (and shortly thereafter to the hospital).