Have you ever been accused of being a workaholic? OR, do you believe that you have this tendency RIGHT below the surface and that you could turn INTO a full-blown workaholic if you were not careful? That was me, and as a recovering workaholic, you can benefit from the lessons I have learned. And just to be clear, having a passion for your work is NOT the same as being a workaholic. The difference is that the workaholic REALLY can’t stop, and continuously chooses their work over their responsibilities at home, including precious time that they will NEVER back with their families and friends. Now in making this change, just like with anything else, there are things you CAN control, and things you can’t, and it’s important to recognize that fact so you don’t end up banging your head against the wall. For example, if you work in a workaholic-driven company/division, and you don’t want to perform at that expected level, then your ONLY option may be to get out, because you’re not going to be able to change the company’s culture. Don’t forget that managing your career is all about choices, and if you convince yourself that you DON’T have choices, then you end up playing the victim, and you don’t want to get stuck there. So Let’s Get to It~ Tip #1 - Know your Company’s Bottom Line Too many employees are overwhelmed and, therefore, spend too many hours on the wrong priorities. When was the last time you asked your boss, “What are my top priorities?” I have always done this for the folks I have supervised because I know first-hand how easy it can be to spread yourself too thin – AND if you are spreading yourself too thin over projects that are NOT going to help the company’s bottom line, then you don’t even have much to show for it. Be sure that you identify which projects are closest to the revenue line AND that you have a clear definition of what “success” is going to look like for a particular project. That is key because you might presume you know how success would be defined for what your working on, but if you haven’t really discussed that with your boss OR the client, then you may NOT be on the same page. Since you want to work “smarter and not harder” then it’s important to spend the majority of your workday and those tasks that you KNOW are the most important to your company. Also, knowing how success if going to be defined will also help you avoid the trap of perfectionism (check out our episode on perfectionism) as you work on the project. Join us next week for Tips #2 & #3!