Freelancers and other self-employed professionals may be
particularly prone to the perils of workaholism.
What is a workaholic?
The word “workaholic” is a portmanteau, meaning it’s a
hybrid of two words: “work” and “alcoholic.” In short, a workaholic is a person
who is addicted to work.
In the print age, newspaper freelancers were known as
stringers, primarily because they were paid by the inch for their printed
columns (or strings).
In today’s cyber-age, writers may receive upfront payments and residuals (somewhat like royalties) for actual readership (or page views). Those who create the most copy and reel in the most readers tend to earn the highest incomes.
In today’s cyber-age, writers may receive upfront payments and residuals (somewhat like royalties) for actual readership (or page views). Those who create the most copy and reel in the most readers tend to earn the highest incomes.
Or so we believe.
So we work ... and we work ... and we work.
So we work ... and we work ... and we work.
July 5th
is Workaholic Day in the United States.
Because yesterday was the Fourth of July (OK, you probably
heard the fireworks), most folks skip work today. Others knock off early. Those
devoted sorts who put in a full day today may be workaholics. (Or they may just
have taskmaster bosses.)
Those of us who are self-employed can only blame the mirror,
if our bosses are taskmasters.
Some of us left the proverbial rat race, where we worked
like dogs. We hoped to find professional freedom, but we ended up working our
a$$es off instead. (How’s that for a
bunch of mixed metaphors?)
We don’t punch time clocks, but we sure have deadlines.
Maybe we are workaholics, after all. Happy Workaholic
Day on July 5th.
.
By
the way, if we’re really being honest here, I am not just a workaholic. I’m
also a chocoholic, a horsaholic, a bookaholic,a horticulturaholic, and much
more. Now, if I could only tear myself away from my work long enough to check
out all those 12-step groups.
Image/s:
From: Superman Valentine
1940
Public Domain Artwork/Copyright
Expired
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Dear Linda,
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for referencing me in your post! Having left my corporate job in December of last year, I now struggle to not spend my entire day (and night) writing and sending email queries to potential clients. So much for freedom to do what I want and go where I please, huh? However, I find that I am much more productive if given "limited" time to accomplish something, after which I am forced to take a long break- like by taking a camping trip. I also prevent work burnout by switching up my writing routine: one day I'll work on finance articles, and the next day I'll focus strictly on a health-related blog post.
Anyway, thank you again and keep up the good work!