I want to go far in life

[SagaLore]

When I'm home, I don't sit around. I do yard work, I read, I work on websites, etc. A few years ago I was watching some TV (which I hardly do), and realized that I was just wasting my spare time away. I decided going forward that whenever I didn't have something I needed to do, I'd fill in the time with something else constructive, like studying for a certification or work on another revenue generating website.

It's worked out quite well the last few years. But now I'm finding myself in the same situation on the job. I'm usually working about 50 hours a week, lots of travel, lots of troubleshooting and planning and testing, etc. But with most of my projects done and tax season over, I'm bored. I just sit here on ATOT waiting for a funny thread to get started, or I chat with some friends on IRC.

I do need a cooling down period from time to time when the stress has gotten real high, but now I'm to the point I feel like I'm wasting time again. I should be studying for CISSP or evaluating some products for next year's budget - or at the very least tidy up my office...

Maybe it's time for me to block myself from ATOT. Life is just too short...

 

[Lonyo]

I have thought the same all the time, but I have absolutely no motivation to do anything really
I have no school right now (exams on Thursday and Friday that I shoudl study for, need to get good marks as they are going to be the major part of my Uni application and I want to get into Oxford).
I should study, but I CBA at all.

 

[Descartes]

I was in a similar situation, so I simply refocused my energies into my other interests that I had neglected over the years. I was entirely burnt out on my work; I wanted to set afire all of my computers. I say spend some time doing something that is not directly related to the advancement of your career, and instead simply due it for pure enjoyment. Diversity is good, and often times it will lead to an indirect advancement in other areas as well.

 

Do you work out? That'd be an excellent use of your time.

 

[edro]

Life is too short... you might as well die now.

 

[SagaLore]

Originally posted by: Descartes
I was in a similar situation, so I simply refocused my energies into my other interests that I had neglected over the years. I was entirely burnt out on my work; I wanted to set afire all of my computers. I say spend some time doing something that is not directly related to the advancement of your career, and instead simply due it for pure enjoyment. Diversity is good, and often times it will lead to an indirect advancement in other areas as well.

Last week I felt this way. For a moment there I was actually regretting going into Information Technology in college, of the two options I was contemplating, Horticulture was the other one. Then I remembered why I chose IT - because I will make more money in the long run, and can fund all the other projects/goals I've ever had that needed money. So then I can retire playing with the plants instead.

With IT you have to constantly learn, stay up to date with the current technology. Especially in my specialty, security, it's rather stressful to keep up with and compete. But that's one of the reasons I kick myself if I relax too long - the only way I can make the big bucks like I planned, is to not waste my time relaxing too much.

 

[SagaLore]

Originally posted by: jumpr
Do you work out? That'd be an excellent use of your time.

I was before tax season and our home move, but then I didn't have time. But I do keep busy when I'm home, the problem now is at work.

 

Problem solved

 

[SagaLore]

Originally posted by: Roger
Problem solved

:shocked:

 

[Descartes]

Originally posted by: SagaLore

Originally posted by: Descartes
I was in a similar situation, so I simply refocused my energies into my other interests that I had neglected over the years. I was entirely burnt out on my work; I wanted to set afire all of my computers. I say spend some time doing something that is not directly related to the advancement of your career, and instead simply due it for pure enjoyment. Diversity is good, and often times it will lead to an indirect advancement in other areas as well.

Last week I felt this way. For a moment there I was actually regretting going into Information Technology in college, of the two options I was contemplating, Horticulture was the other one. Then I remembered why I chose IT - because I will make more money in the long run, and can fund all the other projects/goals I've ever had that needed money. So then I can retire playing with the plants instead.

With IT you have to constantly learn, stay up to date with the current technology. Especially in my specialty, security, it's rather stressful to keep up with and compete. But that's one of the reasons I kick myself if I relax too long - the only way I can make the big bucks like I planned, is to not waste my time relaxing too much.

I completely understand. IT has been my financial foundation for other interests, and it will continue to be so. Unfortunately, it also used to be my passion (software development), but the attrition of the unending work has led me to my state of computational pyromania. I used to spend almost all of my time researching, reading, working on side projects, etc. but in the end it was just too much. I kept feeling like all the knowledge I had acquired just a year before was obsolete, and I had to recapitulate that entire learning process again. I still do it, but the fervent desire to do so isn't quite there. I cut back considerably in my time and started pursuing my other interests to help balance things out.

I empathize with you! :beer:

 

[Jzero]

I find that eventually I get too deep into something and need to "prune" it in order to grow.

For instance, I was in a vocal group in college that grew to taking up a large chunk of my time. After just 2 years, I just had to get out. The rest of the group was pretty much dumbfounded. I think they had expected me to resign my position as director, but continue to sing with the group. But even stepping down from that post, the group still required a huge commitment - rehearsals 3x a week and performances nearly every weekend.

It was very painful to just walk away from a group that I had completely transformed and the people that I had practically lived with for two years, but I didn't want to graduate from college and think "All I did was one thing."

But leaving that group gave me the opportunity to fulfill other dreams - performing in the 900-seat Georgian-style grand stage three time, and the opportunity to join two other groups that I would not have had time to join.

I'm at a similar crossroads these days, as I feel that my devotion to enriching my area's community theaters is beginning to take up all of my time and I can pursue no other interests. So I've got to put the brakes on.

Never be afraid to re-evaluate what your dreams are and take the necessary steps to achieve them.

 

[SpecialEd]

get married or spend time with your wife... if that doesn't take up all your time, then have kids.

 

[Maverick]

get yourself a meticulous time consuming hobby
like painting little figures or something.

 

[LuckyTaxi]

I understand what you're going through. I probably shouldnt be complaing since I'm only 24, but lately I havent had any motivation to do anything. i got stuff to do at work, but i just dont feel like messing with servers or coding. Maybe it has something to do with my salary, but I know that when I go home I dont want to be online.

what i used to do was go out on the weekends with my friends (who dont work) and then I come home feeling better about myself! it's a cruel feeling but it works at time knowing that I have a job and all.

i think i need a career change.

 

[conjur]

Go to your boss and see if there's something you can take off of his hands.

Walk around work and talk to others you rarely see.

 

[rh71]

there's always sports and gaming... that's the other 2 things I do (besides spending time with my SO). You don't necessarily have to be productive ... as long as you enjoy the time that passes.

As far as your job/career... if it's going stale, you can just work on side projects learning a new language, etc. You can plan your next move once you become savvy doing whatever it was you just learned.

 

[conjur]

Get into buying up rental properties. Become a landlord and let the recurring income fund your early retirement!!

 

[LuckyTaxi]

Originally posted by: conjur
Get into buying up rental properties. Become a landlord and let the recurring income fund your early retirement!!

exactly what i'm working on.

i keep telling myself money isnt everything, but all thats on my mind now is trying to pay off my credit card bills.

 

[SagaLore]

SpecialEd:
Already married, I'm trying to do as much as I can now before we have kids.

Maverick:
That's the waste of time I'm trying to avoid.

lilcam:
I'm only 24 too, especially at our age we should be pushing ourselves.

conjur:
I see everybody regularly, I support them. My boss doesn't do any hands-on work.

rh71:
I don't like sports and don't have time to waste on games (although I love RPGs). My job is only as stale as I make it. I can't use my current job as a stepping stone until I push myself to get my security certs, otherwise a career shift would only be horizontal.

conjur:
There is actually a lot of that around here, but talking to my last landlord about it, you spend a lot of time/money fixing everything and after all the expenses and taxes, it's not much more than a normal job. Now if I lived in a duplex and rented out the other side, that would be different - but wouldn't be much fun...

lilcam:
yea money isn't everything until you realize it will take you several years plus a strict budget to get all your debt paid off.

 

[LuckyTaxi]

Originally posted by: SagaLore
lilcam:
I'm only 24 too, especially at our age we should be pushing ourselves.

lilcam:
yea money isn't everything until you realize it will take you several years plus a strict budget to get all your debt paid off.

We should be pushing ourselves, but the market isn't what it used to be. I remember when jobs were plentiful and my former employer would do everything they could to keep me knowing that I wanted to leave for better pay. Now, i went backwards aftering leaving my previous job to finish school, and I'm getting paid lower than what i was used to. It's gonna take me forever to pay off my debt and I really wish I had my own house.

The ONLY thing currently motivating me is my newest endeavor. My co-worker and I are looking to purchase foreclosed houses and fixing them and then selling them. It should be a huge profit, but it does take time finding the right property and then fixing them up. But, with hard work and dedication, we'll be able to do it. Now if only I could apply the same thinking to my current job.

I used to like reading eweek and playing with the latest things, but I don't have the drive that I used to when playing with linux and coding in PHP. I dont know, maybe I wasn't cut out for this.

 

[SagaLore]

Originally posted by: lilcam

Originally posted by: SagaLore
lilcam:
I'm only 24 too, especially at our age we should be pushing ourselves.

lilcam:
yea money isn't everything until you realize it will take you several years plus a strict budget to get all your debt paid off.

We should be pushing ourselves, but the market isn't what it used to be. I remember when jobs were plentiful and my former employer would do everything they could to keep me knowing that I wanted to leave for better pay. Now, i went backwards aftering leaving my previous job to finish school, and I'm getting paid lower than what i was used to. It's gonna take me forever to pay off my debt and I really wish I had my own house.

The ONLY thing currently motivating me is my newest endeavor. My co-worker and I are looking to purchase foreclosed houses and fixing them and then selling them. It should be a huge profit, but it does take time finding the right property and then fixing them up. But, with hard work and dedication, we'll be able to do it. Now if only I could apply the same thinking to my current job.

I used to like reading eweek and playing with the latest things, but I don't have the drive that I used to when playing with linux and coding in PHP. I dont know, maybe I wasn't cut out for this.

As soon as you make a profit on the first few house, use that to buy a foreclosed house to fix up - for yourself. Then run your foreclosure business out of your home.

 

There is more to life than getting ahead.

 

[LuckyTaxi]

Sagalore -

You best believe we'll be working from home once we get the ball rolling.
I wont be quitting my FT job just yet, but once we get some money to hold us up for a year or so, we'll
quit and work on our own time! There's nothing better than working for oneself.

SampSon -

you're right. Being around family/friends make things much better. Getting away from work and all the crap that comes with it, well sometimes it's not worth it. On weekends, I try my best to NOT use a computer, but my life basically revolves around it. if i dont stay on top of things (in terms of the latest technology), then I'll be in trouble.

 

[SagaLore]

Originally posted by: lilcam
Sagalore -

You best believe we'll be working from home once we get the ball rolling.
I wont be quitting my FT job just yet, but once we get some money to hold us up for a year or so, we'll
quit and work on our own time! There's nothing better than working for oneself.

SampSon -

you're right. Being around family/friends make things much better. Getting away from work and all the crap that comes with it, well sometimes it's not worth it. On weekends, I try my best to NOT use a computer, but my life basically revolves around it. if i dont stay on top of things (in terms of the latest technology), then I'll be in trouble.

Remember that I'm just refering to wasting time at work. I don't consider time with friends and family a waste - but sitting at work for 8 hours without really making progress on anything, that I consider a waste. I could be studying for my ccna instead. But since I started this thread today, I did start working on something that I've needed to finish for awhile.

 

[NightCrawler]

Wow your working 50 hours a week and your compalining your NOT busy enough.