I am currently on indefinite leave from work due to stress/exhaustion/burnout.
Well, actually, I’m not.
The nature of my work – self-employed, varied roles – means I can’t really go on holiday but I feel like I need a headline to grab attention.
I am trying to reduce my workload.
I’m grateful to be as busy as I have been with work lately, but it’s often overwhelming. My latest tax return shows that I’m making good money, but the cost is that I’m often slow to respond to messages or don’t respond at all, I’ve sometimes struggled to be polite and friendly when I need to, and I’ve been sick – especially in Egypt – more often than ever.
The past few years have been very difficult in my personal life. Life can be cruel, and misfortune seems to come in clusters. As if the emotional weight isn’t enough, it turns out that difficult things like bereavement, probate, caring for elderly relatives and separation/divorce also come with a ton of tedious, time-consuming and inefficient admin. The final insult is that you often have to pay a fee for the privilege, the government, or a lawyer, etc.
As a freelancer it can be hard to say ‘no’ – you don’t want to miss out and you never know when the offers might stop rolling in. I love being my own boss and working on my own schedule and from home. I realize that I am very lucky in this. But when things get tough, I don’t have a boss who can tell me to take a break or not take that extra because I already have too much work, or who can delegate some of my work, allow me to take sick leave, or tell people ‘he’s not available right now’.
From now on I will try to be a good boss to myself, politely declining work and sending myself to take breaks (as much as possible).
So thanks for reading, sorry if you had a hard time getting a hold of me, or caught me in a bad moment. I’m really hoping things get easier this year but thanks for your patience and understanding in the meantime.
