Work bloody work.
I know when you work for yourself it comes in fits and starts but recently I have been non stop and I am not sure I like it. I decided to work for myself so I could work to live and not the other way round. Then you realise that if you are too picky and turn work down, you don’t get asked again.
So you start saying yes all the bloody time and find that you are living to work and have little time for the things you find solace in.
Don’t get me wrong, I love being a photographer and I have some great clients but tonight i got in at 1am and didn’t want to go to bed because tomorrow will be over as soon as it starts and then I will have another 12 hour job to do.
Sometime i wish the client realised that when I say my day is six hours max, That is pushing the shutter grabbing images. When I eventually get home there are many hours more of editing, CD burning, paperwork and so on.
Was it Freud who said…”No other technique for the conduct of life attaches the individual so firmly to reality as laying emphasis on work; for his work at least gives him a secure place in a portion of reality, in the human community. ” Of course it was.. I just looked it up.
What the hell was he on? I think it is only the week minded that need work as a mental crutch. I can find a million and one things to do in a day without work.
I would like to think that my portion of reality contained enough quality time for a person to be present enough not to think about money and wealth acquisition…
Strange how the days really go faster as you get older… Why?… My theory is that the more you fill your life with routine, the less datum’s and punctuation points your mind has to mark the passing time.
Work, eat, sleep.
Work, eat, sleep.
Work, eat, sleep.
Work, eat, sleep.
Work, eat, sleep.
Play, eat, sleep.
Play, eat, sleep.
Work, eat, sleep.
Work, eat, sleep.
…………………………..You see how it goes.. The weeks turn into days, the days into hours and so on.
Do something spontaneous. Make a day to remember that can bookmark the month so at least a hicup is created in the otherwise steady flow of time constantly ebbing away.
Time only seems to matter when it’s running out.
Ok. Take a deep breath and read this back.
Let’s look at this practically. Realistically and not so idealistically.
Yes, a work life balance is a wonderful thing to attain and when I really think about it… My work does come in fits and spurts. I really need to read this rant when I have had no work for a week. When I am desperate for a client to send me out on a 10 hour day.
Ok.. Well at least i still have time to gather my thoughts. Perhaps in the future I will come back to this post and chortle quietly to myself muttering.. ‘Oh Christian.. how worked up you used to get before you discovered the wonders of time management.”
