Work tomorrow

[Scarlett]

I am considering bunking off work tomorrow. I am exhausted, and if I go in, I will have to spend til midnight tonight getting my work done for tomorrow. I will also have to spend til midnight tomorrow (after work) doing all my work for Friday. If I take the day off tomorrow I will be able to catch up on everything, clean the house and start afresh and proper on Friday.

What do you think I should do?!

[FP]

Take the day off.  Exhaustion is a valid reason!  Look after yourself.  One day off might might save you a month off suffering from nervous exhaustion or worse.

Take care of yourself!    Something is wrong if you are having to work all these extra hours.  It needs to be sorted out.

And if you do have tomorrow off REST,  don't spend it catching up, and forget cleaning the house - it will only get dirty again.!

[flaming]

I think you should see if there's something else you can do that's much less pressured.  Ok, you can bunk off but what's one day gonna do?  When things get overwhelming by that much it's time to set the treadmill a bit lower.  FP's right - forget the dusting.  Do a general tidy when you get up and do your work for Friday.  That should be enough.  I wonder whether the Bank Hol. put you out   They upset us really, and I wonder how beneficial they are.  We seem to get behind for ages.

[KittyGlitter]

Take it off girl! So you might not be ill, but sometimes we all need some breathing space. From the sounds of it, you don't bunk off work very much so I wouldn't feel guilty. If you over do it, you might then come down with something anyway so put yourself first for a change!

[netibiza]

Take the day off and enjoy yourself. Sounds like you need it.

[Scarlett]

Flaming! I didn't have a bank holiday, as Monday is my norma day off. My problem is that I do so much lecturing and teaching, that every single lesson needs a lot of planning and marking. It takes me hours every night to plan the next days teaching, and get everything ready/resources/videos/marking etc. I also mainly teach singing so I usually have to learn songs that the pupils have requested- which means typing out lyrics, working out the chords by ear etc... All very time consuming. So i often don't eat until all my work is done, which is too late to be healthy! And every day is like that. So every now and again I have to just have a day off to catch my breath. Teaching really does suck.

[jno]

Scarlett, it sounds as though flaming has got it right: your job is too demanding. This doesn't mean you're not good enough (you sound conscientious - who else would ask a website if taking a day off was the right thing?), it means your employers demand too much of you. Yes, exhaustion is a legitimate reason for staying home, and you should do it. But maybe you should also think about whether the job requirements are fair in the long term?

[iwbus]

Take it off - work to live don't live to work. Say youve got raging trots or something, normally works for me

[VINNY100_2]

Sounds like this job is exhausting and its a never ending circle of being knackered,Im feeling tired just reading about it!!Take the bloody day of and if you've got 5 minutes to spare sit down and think about a change of job.Dont feel guilty just do it now!!Words of wisdom from FP".It needs to be sorted"

[FP]

Scarlett - I sincerely hope you are at home today.

Advice:  If the sun shines get out of the house, go for a walk, sit in a park or the countryside and chill!    A job is not worth getting exhausted for, however much you like it!

Pamper yourself today.

Love and Best wishes

[Scarlett]

Thanks everyone! I am at home today- helping my Mum and Dad do my garden! It's outside and lovely weather.

I have been trying to get out of my job for a long time, but was buying my first house so had to save money, and had to completely do up the inside (new bathroom, kitchen, garden, complete decoration and carpets etc). now I have nearly finished it I plan to do an MA in Sept 2006, but again, have to save up, and move away to do it. Hopefully this will lead to a different job in the future.

Thanks for inspiring me!

[newtron]

Scarlet, from your description in your question, I knew you were a school teacher.  My wife was a high school science teacher in the States and she had the same experience.  Her first year of teaching, she taught 4 different subjects, which resulted in her working 18 to 20 hour days every day.  By her third year, it was a little easier, as she had aquired a large cache of lessons and lesson plans, but I was still amazed at how much time she had to put into it.  Something needs to be done.  Teachers are over worked, under appreciated and under paid!!  Well, I hope you are enjoying your day off.  Good luck!!

[DavidUK]

Scarlet, if you are having to stick with this job, how about trying to cut down on your preparation. Think about how you can cut corners and, for the sake of your health, be less concientous.

 

For example, do you have to learn the songs that pupils have requested? Can't you decide what songs to do (at least some of the time)?

 

I used to know a florist who came close to a nervous breakdown every Christmas. This was because people used to come to her at the last minute with orders that she couldn't really fit in but she couldn't say "no". Fortunately, several of us finally convinced her that it was OK to say "sorry, but I can't do it". She had her first enjoyable Christmas for years!

 

Hope you are still enjoying your day off.

[AllYourBase]

Is the problem really that your house needs cleaned and you are blaming work for falling behind at home?

[Scarlett]

No, my house is never particularly clean-- it is a big place and I live alone, so it is only my own mess and only me who has to live in it. I only object to working all day, being exhausted, coming home, and having SO much to do for the following day that I can't eat until 10pm. Every night.