What makes someone a workaholic? If you asked me, all you would have to do is look at my daily life. I’m only in high school, just starting out, but I like to think I know enough about work and stress. So, back to the question of “What makes someone a workaholic?”

One sign that you’re a workaholic is your obsession with getting a certain task done. For me, that means working until midnight or well into four in the morning on schoolwork and projects. An unfortunate few are in the same position, others are unlucky enough to work until one in the morning, and a slightly luckier few just have to work so much that they miss their favorite television show. Oh, and that’s another sign that you’re a workaholic; missing out on your favorite activities and shows when your doing work. I don’t mean just missing a TV program every once in a while because you need to get an assignment done. I mean missing out on your favorite shows almost all the time, because you’re working on schoolwork that’s not that hard on not even due for a long time. Not a big TV fan? The same principle applies to missing out on family activities that you enjoy and going out with friends you love.

Despite all this, most people would consider these things just being busy and not necessarily signs of being a workaholic. Which is exactly why I tried to find a universal sign that most people, if not all, would think is a clear sign of being a workaholic. I think I may have found that sign. The top sign that you are a workaholic is a compulsive need to bring work with you because it would feel too strange without it. I still bring my textbooks home with me on the days I don’t have any assignments from those classes, because it feels too strange without that extra weight in my hands. Whenever there’s a family trip, I feel like I need to bring my latest school project along so I can work on it in the hotel, even when the project is as simple as a report(not really a project in the first place), and isn’t even due for another two weeks after my trip. If you ever manage to bring yourself up to this point, I feel both impressed by your work ethic, but also want you to cool it. It’s not fun being a workaholic at the worst possible times (if there‘s ever a good time to be one), like on family trips, when you should be making memories, not reading memoirs. To all the workaholics reading this, STOP. We all need to learn to stop with the working, and just relax a bit. Watch a funny video, make a funny video, laugh, write, sing, dance, play catch, just do something other than work! Believe me; you want to have fun while the goings still easy. Yeah, this is the easy part! The more work we try to do, the more work we just end up with. So here’s my philosophy regarding work, and hope that someone else at least thinks about it: Work on what you are given with every effort you have, but don’t ask for more. Do your best at the work you are given, do not beg for more, and learn to take a break when you feel like you have too much.