Discussion
Do you "live to work" or "work to live"?
If it was one and is now the other, what made you re-evalute and change? I'm guessing most people who have changed their outlook have swapped the former for the later.
Is it an age/experience thing that made the change or something else?
What advice would you like to give yourself when younger about the working world?
If it was one and is now the other, what made you re-evalute and change? I'm guessing most people who have changed their outlook have swapped the former for the later.
Is it an age/experience thing that made the change or something else?
What advice would you like to give yourself when younger about the working world?
Hard one, I knew that to get where I wanted to be, I would probably have to work harder than people I was with. (I left school without any GCE's) Firstly to be noticed and to start to "climb" the management ladder and then to stay there. So yes I worked long hours, but I had an understanding wife. Looking back it has taken a toll on my health, but I probably haven't it helped either. But I have got to the age of 56 and have now retired on a liveable pension. So maybe I wouldn't change it.
pistonheadforum said:
Do you "live to work" or "work to live"?
The somewhat unhelpful answer from me is a bit of both.I consider myself fortunate that I have landed at a place in my working life where I enjoy what I do enormously, am engaged fully in it and, it seems, I'm rather good at it. So, as a result, I spend far more time than I probably should on work but rarely is it a burden.
Self employment also affords the ability to avoid the normal 9-5 routine.
So it really comes down to what you do and the sense of enjoyment and fulfilment you get from it. We should all work to live and no one pegged out wishing they'd spent more time at work,
I definitely work to live. If I won the lottery I would never be seen again at work!
I don't define myself by what I do and I don't take my job that seriously. That's not to say I am a slacker or a bad employee. I have been working for 20 years in my field and highly experienced and have been promoted. I go to work, do a good job, leave on time and don't think about it till 9:00AM the next morning. I don't get a great deal of fulfillment from my job but it pays enough and is flexible enough for me to find enjoyment and fulfillment elsewhere in my life.
I think it was Jack Kerouac who said In the end, you won't remember the time you spent working in the office or mowing your lawn. Climb that goddamn mountain
I don't define myself by what I do and I don't take my job that seriously. That's not to say I am a slacker or a bad employee. I have been working for 20 years in my field and highly experienced and have been promoted. I go to work, do a good job, leave on time and don't think about it till 9:00AM the next morning. I don't get a great deal of fulfillment from my job but it pays enough and is flexible enough for me to find enjoyment and fulfillment elsewhere in my life.
I think it was Jack Kerouac who said In the end, you won't remember the time you spent working in the office or mowing your lawn. Climb that goddamn mountain
Always work to live, it is why I will never have a career and never have a large wealth, I am not keen on overtime for the sake of it and some firms think that is what makes a worker.
Part f me wishes I was not this way, that I was motivated by sales, success and money, but I long ago accepted what I am, it has left e in and out of work for years, but it's hard to change your inner self
Part f me wishes I was not this way, that I was motivated by sales, success and money, but I long ago accepted what I am, it has left e in and out of work for years, but it's hard to change your inner self
I used to live to work, for me that meant I had a TVR Chimaera at a fairly young age, bought a three bed house etc.. Then I realised that having money in the bank to buy people lovely presents at Christmas didn't matter that much because I rarely saw them......
So I changed it and now I have a much better work/life balance, for example today I have been shopping with my child to get him some balloons ....... I shall do a little work later on after I've walked the dogs...
So I changed it and now I have a much better work/life balance, for example today I have been shopping with my child to get him some balloons ....... I shall do a little work later on after I've walked the dogs...
Work to live, I'm happy with the balance, I do ok, I'm not a high flyer but I don't 'stuff chickens on an assembly line' either, to quote a fellow PH'er 
Never been one for material things really, so my overheads are fairly low and I feel comfortable financially although not rich by any means.
I feel quite philosophical at times and can't help but wonder about life in general, if we're alone, if this is all meaningless, I'd rather have a good time during my 'blink of an eye' in this universe than waste it working myself into an early grave for monetary gain which means nothing once your time is up.
Never been one for material things really, so my overheads are fairly low and I feel comfortable financially although not rich by any means.
I feel quite philosophical at times and can't help but wonder about life in general, if we're alone, if this is all meaningless, I'd rather have a good time during my 'blink of an eye' in this universe than waste it working myself into an early grave for monetary gain which means nothing once your time is up.
Work to live always as life is too short to be looking back and thinking you missed out on things because you worked too hard.
Don’t get me wrong I’m not living in a camper van and not working at all we both work and are comfortable but we are always the first to pick up the kids and have as many holidays as we can.
We have friends earning well into 6 figures who are miserable as are their kids as they never see mum and dad I really don’t get why they do it after you take into account their bigger mortgages and higher tax they don’t have much more disposable than us each month some people are more career minded I guess.
Don’t get me wrong I’m not living in a camper van and not working at all we both work and are comfortable but we are always the first to pick up the kids and have as many holidays as we can.
We have friends earning well into 6 figures who are miserable as are their kids as they never see mum and dad I really don’t get why they do it after you take into account their bigger mortgages and higher tax they don’t have much more disposable than us each month some people are more career minded I guess.
I work to live. My job is quite specialised so can become dull at times because of that (as there is little variation) but overall I'm happy with it. The flexible hours helps enormously and I think this is #1 to helping a work life balance.
The way things are these days, flexibility is key. Usually both parents are working so require flexibility to deal with the kids. An employer not offering flexibility (where its practical) will probably have high turnover of staff.
The way things are these days, flexibility is key. Usually both parents are working so require flexibility to deal with the kids. An employer not offering flexibility (where its practical) will probably have high turnover of staff.
pistonheadforum said:
Do you "live to work" or "work to live"?
If it was one and is now the other, what made you re-evalute and change? I'm guessing most people who have changed their outlook have swapped the former for the later.
Is it an age/experience thing that made the change or something else?
What advice would you like to give yourself when younger about the working world?
Get stuck in while it lasts.If it was one and is now the other, what made you re-evalute and change? I'm guessing most people who have changed their outlook have swapped the former for the later.
Is it an age/experience thing that made the change or something else?
What advice would you like to give yourself when younger about the working world?
Think about the things you want to achieve with your life. If your work makes you happy then you are very lucky and no doubt in a minority. If it pays you well also then doubly so.
If your work does not make you happy, then you may as well be miserable making as much money as possible, thus hastening the time at which you will be financially secure enough to go and do something which will make you happy.
I consider myself very lucky. I enjoy my career, it pays me well, and I get to spend a lot of quality time with my wife and kids. The trade-off is the periods of work away, but given that the conditions are good, trips are short and modern communications being what they are, it is nowhere near as great a sacrifice it was once upon a time.
If your work does not make you happy, then you may as well be miserable making as much money as possible, thus hastening the time at which you will be financially secure enough to go and do something which will make you happy.
I consider myself very lucky. I enjoy my career, it pays me well, and I get to spend a lot of quality time with my wife and kids. The trade-off is the periods of work away, but given that the conditions are good, trips are short and modern communications being what they are, it is nowhere near as great a sacrifice it was once upon a time.
I have two jobs, one is voluntary. I used to do loads of hours with that (30 a week on top of 30 at my paid job).
I've now dropped down to 24 hours a week at my paid job (I didn't enjoy it and used to hate it) four days a week. I've had to make a couple of cut backs, but I'm much happier (and sometimes do a bit of overtime now).
Voluntary job I've cut down a bit as well. I'm enjoying that a lot more now. I've always enjoyed it but it's even better now.
I've also made the conscious effort to avoid 'popping' in the office to do paperwork on free days. If it's that important someone will phone me to do it if not it can wait a few days until I'm back in.
I've now dropped down to 24 hours a week at my paid job (I didn't enjoy it and used to hate it) four days a week. I've had to make a couple of cut backs, but I'm much happier (and sometimes do a bit of overtime now).
Voluntary job I've cut down a bit as well. I'm enjoying that a lot more now. I've always enjoyed it but it's even better now.
I've also made the conscious effort to avoid 'popping' in the office to do paperwork on free days. If it's that important someone will phone me to do it if not it can wait a few days until I'm back in.
I’ve undergone a change since our daughter was born five years ago, so has my wife. Up until that point, professional careers were the priority and we both sacrificed quite a lot to get to that point. I did and still do really enjoy my work, it fills me with passion. However since our daughter arrived we have changed our focus much more towards life, no more (except occasionally!) late night and weekend work and a lot less hours. My wife now works 18 hours a week and I am (since September) salaried between two jobs for 30 hours a week. In reality this means more hours September to December and lots less for the rest of the year. I’ve also bought lots of extra holidays so take off all the school holidays.
This works well for us, we get to spend lots of time with our daughter and doing life affirming things, working less also makes it a lot more enjoyable. Although it has been very hard at times (I’m 46 now), both physically and mentally, I wouldn’t change it. We have more than enough money for what we want and we have put away money for our daughters future. The aim is to whittle it down to a few days of paid work per week by the time I’m 50 then likely do more charity work and work in our community. We have friends who have done the opposite, still work lots, seem trapped in buying the ever bigger house, shinier newer car etc and although they earn as much as us they are buried in debt and looking worn out, the kids frequently suffer too. We are simple in what we enjoy; walks in the woods / hills, out on our bikes, just getting into the outdoors, so that helps a lot. Sorry for the slightly rambling post!
This works well for us, we get to spend lots of time with our daughter and doing life affirming things, working less also makes it a lot more enjoyable. Although it has been very hard at times (I’m 46 now), both physically and mentally, I wouldn’t change it. We have more than enough money for what we want and we have put away money for our daughters future. The aim is to whittle it down to a few days of paid work per week by the time I’m 50 then likely do more charity work and work in our community. We have friends who have done the opposite, still work lots, seem trapped in buying the ever bigger house, shinier newer car etc and although they earn as much as us they are buried in debt and looking worn out, the kids frequently suffer too. We are simple in what we enjoy; walks in the woods / hills, out on our bikes, just getting into the outdoors, so that helps a lot. Sorry for the slightly rambling post!
I worked to live.
Can honestly say I hated my job for 30 out of 35 years, but I was good at it and got to a position of being very well paid.
But I also saw a colleague in the 80s die of Aids, and my best pal die of cancer at 41, so as soon as I could I retired (last year aged 56)
11 months later I havent regretted it once.
Can honestly say I hated my job for 30 out of 35 years, but I was good at it and got to a position of being very well paid.
But I also saw a colleague in the 80s die of Aids, and my best pal die of cancer at 41, so as soon as I could I retired (last year aged 56)
11 months later I havent regretted it once.
If it's your business or owned by a family member then you will likely live to work because you are emotionally invested.
If it's not then work to live because if you drop dead tomorrow the advert for your replacement will be up before your funeral.
I'm still trying to find the balance.
If it's not then work to live because if you drop dead tomorrow the advert for your replacement will be up before your funeral.
I'm still trying to find the balance.
Up until my early 30s I worked stupid hours (6 days a week and sometimes seven) to get myself good rewards.
After enough years of that I refused to put in those hours and gradually worked to a position where my employer had to make me redundant.
Now I enjoy the rewards of those sacrifices.
Invest when you’re young, reap when you are older.
After enough years of that I refused to put in those hours and gradually worked to a position where my employer had to make me redundant.
Now I enjoy the rewards of those sacrifices.
Invest when you’re young, reap when you are older.
My wife and I work hard. She’s hit the top of her career before 40. I started life as a corporate lawyer, so everything since then has been easier (it’s rare for me to work 100 hours a week any more).
When I realised we were spending all of the little evening time together griping about work or doing more work while our daughter sat playing in her room, we’d gone very wrong.
So, given I absolutely loathe the job I’m in, I’ve just resigned today with nothing to go to. Time to get things in perspective. I’m pretty sure I can still earn a very good income and have a much better balanced life.
When I realised we were spending all of the little evening time together griping about work or doing more work while our daughter sat playing in her room, we’d gone very wrong.
So, given I absolutely loathe the job I’m in, I’ve just resigned today with nothing to go to. Time to get things in perspective. I’m pretty sure I can still earn a very good income and have a much better balanced life.
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