Confessions of a non-Workaholic

There is certainly nothing wrong with good old-fashioned honest hard work. Hard work is good for the soul, good for the economy, and doesn’t generally hurt the old bank account balance either, depending of course on the specific type of work, some work certainly pays much better than other types of work.

Many people define themselves by their work. It is one of the primary conversation starters, especially among guys, when they meet somebody new. “So what do you do for a living Jim?” “Well, Steve, I’m the semi-regional assistant district manager in charge of marketing and distribution for the west coast and inter-mountain region for product development and testing.” And by the time Jim figures out what the hell that all means, his double tall extra whip no foam triple shot mocha chai latte is ready and it’s time to move along. (Ok, so I’ve used a variation of that joke before, but at least I’m ripping off from my own lines, and I spend a lot of time at Starbucks, drinking good old-fashioned coffee mind you)

A lot of guys, and increasingly women as well, take an almost masochistic pride in the small amount of vacation time they take. You hear guys at the gym brag about how they haven’t had a vacation since the Clinton administration, often the same guys who look like they haven’t had a salad in about the same amount of time which makes you wonder what the heck they are actually accomplishing by showing up at the gym. These are often the same guys who talk about their kids and ex wife who live in another state, but hey, you should check out the new Hummer or Corvette or Harley they’ve got outside in the parking lot.

Vacations are for suckers. Apparently so are in-tact families and vehicles that don’t say, “hey look at me, I’m a total jackass with a beer gut, more hair on my back than on top of my head, but I can still get chicks because I’ve got a sweet ride.” That doesn’t fit on a conventional bumper sticker so you’ll have to trust me that this is what the cars are saying. My wife by the way is the one that pointed out to me, which has since been confirmed countless times, that whenever you see a guy in a convertible, it’s always an old guy who tends to be follically challenged. Which I suppose is actually an advantage if you’re bumping around in a convertible.

Now don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of good family guys, who still have their wife and kids under one roof, who find the time to attend and even participate in their kids activities, and who for the most part bring home a heck of a lot more bacon than I likely ever will, who are nonetheless workaholics. And I also don’t want to disparage work, as I said, there is nothing wrong with hard work, I do it myself whenever it’s required of me. I also realize that some people take pleasure in their work and the long endless hours spent at the office are a choice they make. Some people work their backsides off because they need to provide for their families, or because a certain lifestyle is important to them, or because they are just very driven strivers who want to get to that next rung on the ladder and will do whatever it takes to get there. For those people I say, if it feels good then do it, far be it from me to try to tell a grown man or woman how to live their lives. All I can say is that for me, being a non-workaholic is where it’s at.

Don’t confuse that with being a slacker, because it is certainly not the same thing. A slacker is someone who does nothing productive with their life, one who takes up space, sucks up oxygen, and leaves nothing more than a carbon footprint behind. By the way, has anyone ever actually seen a carbon footprint? Do they look like regular footprints, but maybe like a blackish charcoal gray color? When someone walks with Jesus, is there only one carbon footprint left behind? I’ll have to write a letter to Al Gore and see if he knows. But I digress.

I am an unabashed non-workaholic. I show up to work at 7:30 as my contract requires, and I leave at 3:30 without fail. I work hard while I’m there, as a teacher my students deserve no less than the best I have to offer them during the time that we spend together every day, and I take a great deal of pride in giving my students a quality and hopefully enlightening experience each day that they show up to my class. But I draw the line at working nights and weekends. Whatever work doesn’t get done within the confines of the work day can wait until the next work day. Funny thing about work is that it doesn’t go anywhere, and I’ve also discovered that the earth keeps spinning when it doesn’t get done right away.

So what do I do with my time in between 3:30 and the next 7:30? The stuff I enjoy, and I stay plenty productive, which is why I distinguish between being a non-workaholic and a slacker. I spend my afternoons often at my son’s ballgames or taking my daughter to rehearsals. On the days when there isn’t an activity to rush off to, I drink green tea and watch Hardball with my wife when she gets home from work, and have conversation about anything and everything. I go for my late afternoon run, then I come home, pour myself a glass of merlot or a mug of cold Guinness, make dinner and hang out and watch TV with my family. More conversation, maybe a little helping my daughter with her homework, usually I end the day by watching my favorite sports program PTI with my son before heading to bed.

Sleep is good, but no more than 6-7 hours is needed if it’s quality sleep. Not stressing out about work helps a great deal in that regard, as does the nightly alcoholic intake. I get up early in the morning, make a cup of green tea, grab a quick shower, dress and head out the door early enough to get downtown before the traffic sets in. Then I spend a good couple hours at Starbucks enjoying my morning coffee while reading the papers and magazines I enjoy online, I generally write some, and if there’s time left over take out whatever book I’m currently reading until it’s time to head for the salt mines. Almost forgot, I also take my hour lunch break during which time I continue wherever I left off in my book.

So there’s my routine in a nutshell, and while I may not ever win employee of the month or gain fame and riches, I can live with that. I may never have the big house up in the hills or the overpriced luxury sedan, but that’s alright because I covet neither. What I do have however is priceless and it something that I wouldn’t trade for all the money and recognition in the world, nor is it something that can be achieved by working late or coming in on Saturdays. What I have is the pleasure of being an active part of my kids growing up, the appreciation of having a loving family that communicates in authentic ways with each other, a wonderful affection for my life partner and soul mate, also known as my wife, and the knowledge that I am enjoying my life, doing what I take pleasure in doing, and as much as is possible, living it on my terms. Life is a series of trade-offs, and for this non-workaholic, there isn’t a thing that I would trade off, save perhaps more time in the day to do the things I enjoy doing. But as long as the 8 hour workday and the 5 day workweek remain in effect, I’ll gladly take the time that I’ve got and continue to do the most that I can with it.