5 Concrete Signs You’re Spending Too Much Time Working

It takes hard work to reach your dreams. You need to put in the effort and the hours if you want to see success. You have to make occasional sacrifices too. But that doesn’t mean the only thing on your schedule should be work. It’s dangerous to push yourself too hard, to care about work and only work. You don’t want to burn yourself out. Here are some signs you’re spending a little too much time working toward your dreams and not enough time resting or developing a well-rounded life:

You can’t remember the last time you hung out with your friends.

If you want to reach your dreams, you need discipline. Sometimes, that means turning down fun plans to get more work done. But this shouldn’t be a constant occurrence. You shouldn’t be turning down every single opportunity you ever have to go out and have fun because you’re too busy working. You deserve to enjoy yourself. You deserve to unwind. If you rarely speak to your friends anymore because you’re too busy for a social life, you’re going to end up regretting it.

You are slowly starting to hate the work that you used to love.

Do something you love and you’ll never work a day in your life isn’t actually true. Even when you’re happy with what you’re doing overall, certain days will still feel exhausting. They will still be stressful and hard. However, you shouldn’t feel miserable each and every moment of each and every day. If you’re starting to actively hate the dream what you’ve been working toward achieving your whole life, you need to take a step back. Take a break. You don’t want to end up pushing yourself so hard that this thing you once loved becomes something you cannot stand.

You aren’t taking care of your mental health or your body properly.

Your dreams are important. But they’re not more important than your health. You don’t want to end up skipping meals or missing out on too much sleep or randomly snapping at the people that you love because you’re moody from stress. You need to take care of yourself. You need to listen to what your mind and body are telling you instead of mindlessly pushing forward and telling yourself you’re disciplined. At a certain point, it stops being disciplined and starts being reckless. It starts being foolish.

You can’t remember what else brings you joy, aside from work.

Although it’s wonderful that you’ve found a passion that brings you excitement and joy, it’s dangerous to rely on any one thing to make you happy, whether that’s a career or a person. You should have other things in your life that bring you happiness. If work is the only meaningful thing in your life right now, it’s important to get out there and try new things. Find new meaning.

You don’t want to keep working at the pace you’re working.

Remember, you are in control of your schedule. If you’re exhausted, take a break. Take a vacation. Or take the time to rearrange your schedule to make it feel more manageable. You don’t want to keep up this pace if it’s hurting you. You need to work hard to reach your dreams — but you don’t need to make yourself miserable.