Work vs. Home from Life Tips at Families Online Magazine

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I started a new job recently. It has taken over my life these first few months. It's making me wonder if it is always going to be like this, or if this is the amount of extra work I have to do to compensate for the learning curve. My dilemma is, how much is too much, and when you are spending less time with the people you love (your family), when and where do you draw the line?

I do enjoy what I am doing, now that I have gained a little bit of time and experience. I am learning something new every day, and feel a sense of accomplishment in what I have already done here but I am missing my family. I find myself making excuses on the weekends now when asked to do lunch with them, or to contribute to family time. It isn't that I don't want to spend the time with them. It is that I am too exhausted and need to be alone to recuperate. Knowing this does not alleviate my guilt, and I find myself pressured lately to find a solution to this problem.

What is the solution? If I let up on my work responsibilities, then I am not doing my job effectively, but if I do not spend quality time with my family, then I will regret it for the rest of my life. I'm at an impasse. I have no answer at this moment, but am earnestly seeking one. I keep thinking that sooner or later, things will start to calm down as I learn and grow more with the new responsibilities of my job, and eventually it will be easier to spend more time with my family. I'm hoping this is the case.

I don't know how workaholics do it. People who are so consumed with their careers, that they do not have time for their families, or forget what is truly important in their lives. What is it that is instilled in each individual that places him or her on one path or another? Is it the morals and values of being brought up in a very close knit family that sets the tone for the person who knows that family needs to be paid attention to? Is it a lack of family emotions or ties that causes the opposite effect in the career oriented person who passes on family time? Am I making things too simple, or in fact too complicated?

I only hope that if you are reading this, you question yourself and how you are spending your time, as I am. I hate to see people with regret. Regret is no good. We have but one life. Time is valuable. Spending that time with the people you love is too important. In the end, is it the job who will be there telling me how much they love me, helping me with my issues, and giving me comfort in times of need and vice versa? I guess it is something you have to decide for yourself. Jobs come and go, but I can't send out a resume' or interview to be placed into another family. When you think of it that way, the answer is fairly simple.