Oh to be young, gifted and on the fast track to success. If you're one of the lucky few who actually enjoy their job, then you know pulling yourself away from a desk you actually don't mind sitting at is easier said than done. Perhaps I Want to Work for Diddy and The Devil Wears Prada are eerily too close for comfort.
Late nights, skipped meals, caffeine highs and conference calls; as annoying as it is, you wouldn't trade it for a day of paid vacation (admit it, you actually enjoy the humdrum of the AC kicking on and off). There's a thin line between hustling hard and a legit obsession with your job, and we're treading dangerously close to the latter.
But it costs to be the boss, and this is our toll to success. So, to all the people who are on a first-name basis with the office cleaning crew, are unfazed by empty parking lots on dark nights and can't go more than 20 minutes without checking an email, this one's for you.
1. Happy hour is a faint memory.
Somewhere out there, people are ending their day at 5:00 p.m. with a half-off martini. We hate each and every one of them.
2. You often wonder how your chronic Facebook friends have idle time to post #MorningMotivations, bathroom selfies and passive-aggressive statuses when there is clearly work to be done.
In the time it takes to select and post a man crush each Monday, you could've done, well, something.
3. You really make a legitimate effort to eat healthier, but never quite get around to finishing off that bag of salad in the fridge.
You bought it, so that technically counts as healthy living, right?
4. You do your best work after 6 p.m.
5. You're really good friends still invite you places, but it's an unstated rule you'll be running at least an hour late and will be preoccupied with emails once you arrive.
But again, they're real friends, so they understand.
6. It's been 15 minutes and you haven't received an email.
Something must be terribly wrong.
7. Where would we be without a microwave?
8. After a super-late night at the office, it's totally understandable why sweats and your favorite college hoodie would make the perfect next-day wardrobe.
The office is basically your second home (well, really your first, because you're at work more than your real home), so why not?
9. There's an ottoman under your desk.
10. You wholeheartedly believe your hard work will one day pay off...
...but in moments of despair and grogginess, you sometimes wonder if this is true.
11. Despite your ailing health, for some reason you still feel a twinge of guilt for calling off work.
It's just pneumonia; you'll be alright.
12. Thank God for your DVR.
Like really, stop what you're doing and thank God for your DVR because without it you are nothing.
13. If you hear about this work/life balance thing one more time...
14. Because you work so much, friends and family assume you must be stressed.
And therefore load you down with scented candles, bath products and other de-stressors on birthdays and Christmas.
15. It's December and you still have eight vacation days left.
16. There's at least one fast food restaurant near your house that knows your name and order by heart.
Late nights call for desperate measures.
17. You're probably single.
18. After 7 p.m., it's completely acceptable to walk around the office barefoot.
If you're gonna be there, why not be comfortable?
19. You can't remember your mom's cell phone number, but darn it, you've memorized your company's teleconference dial-in.
Bonus points if you know the passcode.
20. While most people admire our passion, there are a handful of naysayers who can't seem to understand our hustle.
To them, we say visit us in a few years when we're millionaires and have schools resurrected in our honor. Or at least that's what we tell ourselves.
21. If your laptop crashed right now and never recovered, real tears would be shed.
22. Five hours of sleep is a pretty decent night.
23. Given your intense work schedule, it's almost impossible to picture yourself married with children.
Not to say we don't want mini me's someday, but who has time for sippy cups and diapers when there are budget reports to be made?
24. Thanks to your Facebook newsfeed, you now know what's going on in the world.
Workaholism is real, folks. And like any addiction, admission is the first step to recovery. So screw what everyone else says, finish typing that email and consider this the start of your path to leave the office at 5 p.m.
This story was originally posted on Adore Colour.