Comments on: 10 Signs You Are Working Too Much

By: Johan

Johan — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 00:01:19 +0000

Hmmm… scoring 6 out of 10. Fortunately I don’t recognize the first 3, but thanks for the eye opener on the others Gary!

For example… it’s one week ’till Christmas. Normally I’d like to round up some work, maybe read up on stuff and clean out my cupboard. Reminisce on this year, prepare for the next… but it’s been total chaos so far…

I’m backup for my colleague. All his applications are running smoothly, but everytime he goes on vacation something always goes terribly wrong the first day he’s gone. aaaaaargh… It’s now reached a point where it’s becoming silly (maybe that’s the 11th sign, hahaha)

Only two days to go and then vacation for me as well… Then others can play backup for me (nice)

Greetings from the Netherlands (yes, people are overworked there too… apparently)

Johan

By: Finds of the Week - December 16, 2007 » Chinh Do

Finds of the Week - December 16, 2007 » Chinh Do — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 20:13:33 +0000

[...] Barber’s article 10 Signs You Are Working Too Much reminds me of some of my past [...]

By: Henna

Henna — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 21:51:11 +0000

I’m involved in at least 3 of the 10 on the checklist and it worries me. Thanks for the read!

By: Gary Barber

Gary Barber — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 11:33:56 +0000

Well we have all been there, haven’t we. Considering doing a solutions post, but from a Freelancers view point.

By: Wishing you all a good break | Bloggy Hell

Wishing you all a good break | Bloggy Hell — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 04:06:10 +0000

[...] Gary’s latest blog post is anything to go by (and I’m living it, so I know he is right), we are all still cranking [...]

By: Tony Petruzzi

Tony Petruzzi — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 18:24:32 +0000

1) Learn to delegate tasks out to other people and prioritize the tasks at hand. The best managers are the ones that don’t do anything and have others do everything.

2) Don’t reinvent the wheel. For example, from a programming perspective: why create your own solution when you can use a class file or a plugin. Too often people try to get “creative” with the task at hand and far too often it comes back to biting them in the ass later. Stick to what is proven to work.

3) Ask for help when needed. Why spend 6 hours trying to figure something out on your own, when you could IM someone, post a message to usenet, ask a question in an IRC channel or spend the money and call or hire an expert.

4) Learn to say NO! Just because someone asks you to do something, doesn’t mean you have to do it. Far too often people become overworked because they’re helping friends to finish their projects while falling behind on their own. Help yourself first, you’re no good to anyone when can’t even think.

By: Bloggers who work too hard…. at On Blogging Australia

Bloggers who work too hard…. at On Blogging Australia — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 10:09:52 +0000

[...] I wrote an article a short time ago on Work/Blog/Life about signs that you’re working too hard (and thanks to Gary Barber for compiling the list). [...]

By: NathanaelB

NathanaelB — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 07:35:48 +0000

@Mahshid:

1. Don’t do your own book-keeping
2. Don’t do your own tax returns
3. Know why you’re doing it
4. Be convinced it’s absolutely what you want to do
5. Have your network of colleagues close by (ie Twitter) to help you out

By: Mahshid

Mahshid — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 06:29:01 +0000

What are the solutions for this problem?

By: Donna Maurer

Donna Maurer — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 03:45:09 +0000

I’ve been there too. I’m not there right now, but as a result worrying about where money is coming from

@stephen it does not get better when you have many clients. It is *much* worse and much harder to juggle.