As a self-employed person, I do get annoyed by people that assume I can just take time off whenever I like, and do whatever I like. Of course, this is true – but they seem to forget one very important thing – if I don’t work, I don’t get paid. It’s a simple as that. If I spend hours per day walking the dog, or lounging in the garden, I’m not working, therefore nobody is going to give me any money. As a result, I work damn hard!
On the flip side of this, however, I do think time off is important. I don’t mean time off as in the aforementioned walking the dog and lounging in the garden, though. I mean not working all the hours under the sun, having proper days off. Which is why, although I do work longer hours during the week, especially if my workload is particularly heavy at the time – I take weekends off. Always – with the very occasional exception.
For starters, if I didn’t do this, I would literally never see my other half. We don’t live near each other, so we can only see each other at weekends. Therefore we make the most of the time we have together, and that absolutely does not include me sitting there tapping away on my laptop! Granted, if something akin to an emergency comes up, I’ll do something about it – but generally, there’s nothing, no email, that can’t wait until Monday.
Other half, important though he is, isn’t the only reason I take weekends off. It’s because I work to live, not the other way around. I’m very lucky in that I enjoy my job – well, most of it, anyway – but that doesn’t mean I want to work every single day. It’s bad for your health, and I tend to find if I’m doing too much, pushing too hard, with no time off, then I start to burn out. I slow down, physically and mentally, become much less efficient – and what’s the point in that? I’d rather make sure I’m well-rested, having time off and having fun. That way when I come back to work I’m energised and putting work out to the best of my ability. Otherwise, I may as well not bother.
*****
Lucy Felthouse is a very busy woman! She writes erotica and
erotic romance in a variety of subgenres and pairings, and has over 100
publications to her name, with many more in the pipeline. These include several
editions of Best Bondage Erotica, Best Women’s Erotica 2013 and Best Erotic
Romance 2014. Another string to her bow is editing, and she has edited and
co-edited a number of anthologies, and also edits for a small publishing house.
She owns Erotica For All, is book
editor for Cliterati, and is one eighth
of The Brit Babes. Find out more
at http://www.lucyfelthouse.co.uk.
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Balance, as hard as it is to achieve, is so important. I once though it crazy that a job didn't allow me to work from home if I was sick–now it think, what a blessing! Most people are hounded by work, even when they aren't there. You're right, it should be 'work to live' not the other way around!
Veronica
http://vsreads.com
Amen, Lucy.
Alas, I tend to work at least some part of every day. If not at my real world job, then at my writing. It seems as though I'll never catch up.