A year into a new data analytics job, I was overworked and constantly stressed. I realized I had to make a change or risk getting stuck in a job I hated for the rest of my life. I could have quit and left my coworkers to pick up the pieces, but instead I decided to do the much more mature thing. Now, I’ve found the perfect way to finally love my job: I simply don’t do it!
In a time when remote work is more common than ever, it’s important to not let your job overtake the other aspects of your life, aspects like hanging out with your friends and being away from your computer all the time. I decided it was time to set strict work-life boundaries, specifically by not working at all and instead focusing on the “life” aspect of the equation. I used to work all the time, but now that I’ve set strict boundaries to not do my job outside of work hours or inside of work hours either, I’ve gotten my light back!
They say if you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life. Well, I love not working, so I’ve put this theory into practice by not working ever.
Yup! It really doesn’t feel like work anymore!
You may wonder if my superiors have caught on to this scheme, and the answer is: absolutely. I think I gave it away when I started zooming into our morning standups while actively surfing. At every performance review, I promise them that I’m “finally getting the hang of things,” by which I mean I’m finally finding ways to avoid doing my job without feeling any shame. My friends say I’m more joyful than I’ve ever been. My boss says I’m “functionally truant” and “unresponsive to the point of inspiring great anger.” Let this be a lesson in doing what you need to do to cope with a capitalism-centric, work-heavy society.
I used to dread logging on to my workplace every morning, but with this simple trick (not doing my job) I’ve turned that dread into joy! Any job is lovable if you simply do not do it! I would like to put this in a book someday.
I have an unwavering work ethic, and since I started applying it to doing absolutely nothing, my quality of life has shot up. If you’re struggling to love your job, try taking a step back, taking a few more steps back, and simply running away!
