Have you read my post, "How is this my life?" I don't remember if you have, but in it, I talked about creating a mantra to get you through those jobs that make you ask yourself, "How is this my life?" You might want to think of the mantra that would work for you to help get you through your 8-9 hour time suck!

Regarding the guilt, I think it might be beneficial for you to look at it from both sides of the coin: How is feeling guilty benefiting your life, & how is it hindering? I know you know it's "bad" & it's something you want to change, but I can guarantee you there's a comforting (!) reason that you have that vampire whispering in your ear! And to give myself a quick plug, my newsletter – out in 4 short hours from now – will have an article on something similar with lots of ways you can stake that vampire. Make sure you take a look for it later this afternoon!

I feel much like you, Michelle, that I want my career to be a natural extension of my life. And every time I say that, even in my head, I feel like a brat. I hear the voices of my past saying everyone has to work and they wouldn't call it work if it was enjoyable.

So I guess that is two things: Not feel like I am banging my head against the wall at work and not feel guilty that I want something better.

Isn't it crazy when there seems to be no time to slow down & take care of the little things that make you calmer? I know the feeling! You might want to just start with committing to 15 minutes/day. Set a timer & go – sort the laundry, do the dishes, weed the garden….when the timer goes off see if you can spare another 15 minutes. If not, I'm fairly positive you'll still get something done & have a feeling of accomplishment!

Keep me posted!

I'd say I want to be more organized and disciplined – I want to set aside the workday to do work and make time to do the laundry or dishes or whatever when the workday is over. I'm getting better.

I also want to slooow down. This summer went by way to fast. I want to have time every day to enjoy something about the place I live – weed the garden, make a meal from local ingredients…

What ain't right for me right now is this running, running, running & doing, doing, doing & going, going, going & rushing, rushing, rushing. What's odd is that I've been doing all those things my whole damn life, so being a grown-up & wanting to simplify & be un-frenzied is so foreign to me that I know what it looks like, but I don't trust it. I don't really know if I can get there, because it just might not be who I am. I'm trying though, & finding more of a balance than I have before. But I hold tight to the idea that there is no rest for the dream-chaser!

I was talking about this with my coach yesterday, & a client too: I want my career to be my life. Not in a time-consuming way, but in a way that gets wrapped into my values & becomes a part of a larger "thing". Right now, my day job is a separate entity that has nothing to do with me. My coaching, however, is my life, along with my relationships. That's how I want things to be different.