First day back at work

I can relate to almost all of that (except the crying at toy story?). December was a blur work wise and I'd mentally thrown the towel in by the end, Christmas and New Year hasn't given me much of a boost of energy and yesterday first day back was a write off.

Today was a bit better though, I think you do need to ease back in...

My first day back as a haiku of sorts:

Back in the office

Data protection training

Slow dying inside

As per airvent.  On the plus side I’ve had confirmation from a customer of a massive contract (sale) coming my way.  Normally I’d be shitting myself with excitement, hopefully my enthusiasm will pick up.  

I find the first few days after new year are odd. I think the date at which colleagues / contacts / customers return to work varies quite a bit, ranging from first day after the bank holiday to next Monday after the bank holiday. So early on you're back at work but lots of people aren't - so you can have great intentions but send an email and no-one replies, you're not getting any meaningful emails, phones doesn't ring. So no matter what your intentions you sort of lose momentum very quickly because you can't see anything through.

I expect my industry isnt really going to wake up until the 8th

I played the lottery for the first time last week. Out of pure desperation from not wanting to go back to work. A bit pathetic really. Just lost all motivation for work (and life in general) and feel extremely low. Need a change but have no idea where to start. Fed up of being desk bound and going through the motions every day.

Can relate.

I played the lottery for the first time last week

I spent my ride to work this morning spending my lottery win in my head. I haven't played the lottery in at least a decade.

Been back two days and ridden through rain and floods. Why do we bother. At least its been quiet and email backlog cleared. Been able to get a good start on some budgets though - painful task of checking staffing, vacancies, new starters and even older vacancies that managers are hanging on to but not being actively recruited too. Well those will be going to a Department that needs them. 

I was so desperate just to make it to Christmas.  Work has been horrible, all I wanted was a proper break...

Tested positive for covid Dec 22nd, gave it Mr TW.  We were both pig sick all through the holidays.  Cancelled all our plans. Ended up needing to do work stuff which was even more stressful than normal, as no other idiot was about.

We're still ill.  Not quite ill enough to not be back to work.

I'll be honest,  not living the dream today.

I'm back tomorrow whereupon I shall mostly be shirking as much as possible untill the cross is on then I'll be watching that. Then an early cut and home.

Work to live.

That'll learn them.

Not back till the 8th, but already feeling the fear and despair. I'm on medication to help me deal with it, and if you are feeling that way as well, meds or talking therapy might help you too.

We spend too long at work to feel this shit.

I'm not back until 8th. I spent most of last year bored with an extremely good job. In December I started searching and got an interview lined up during the holidays. I loved the idea of signing up for a challenge in the new year, but then I had to postpone the interview and it's rescheduled to late January! To make it worse, the Christmas holiday is summer here and we normally make it our annual adventure, which also had to be cancelled. And we were supposed to be moving back into our house finally, but that fell through too.

So i'll have had 3 weeks more or less sitting at home getting annoyed by everyone, then i go back to a job I can't be arsed with and having to move into my house over a weekend.

Meanwhile my wife has comletely lost her rag with her employer and is using up all her leave before resigning in January and we need to do a little bit of legal work to identify if she can pick up contracts with her key clients as an independent.

I know, very much first world problems.

I will shortly be starting a separate thread on ideal MTB/Hiking holidays in Europe as I anticipate spending much of January planning that.

My first day back was spent booking a ski trip as we've got a dog sitter sorted at last. It was a slow day anyway as only half the teams I work with are back. Yesterday was a bit more lively, but not much. Today, half day and off tomorrow as it's the wife's birthday and we are off for a meal in the countryside tonight with friends and staying over.

So, it's good to have non work stuff to look forward to in January I think.

Had plenty to do and some semblance of a plan.

Promised myself I wouldn't even look at emails as these would inevitably distract/stress me out.

Lasted about an hour until habit kicks in and I look at my emails. Wish I hadn't 😭

Good, conscientious graduate engineers issuing packages on Saturday 23rd because they're so overwhelmed, nonsense demands from clients, random and senseless delegation from panicking directors, the whole shebang. Post Christmas goodwill and headspace lasted until mid-morning of the first day then 😂

I'm back at my desk for day 2. I've checked out the Vital team rumours thread, NSMB, Pinkbike, YouTube, obviously STW. I've got some really easy admin tasks to tick off today. I might go for a back of crisps first then smash it. Unbelievably the sun just came out for the first time since September so I might walk around the block. Then straight back to it.

I have also found a job that I think I'm going to apply for. Big pay cut but less time in the office faced with soul crushing monotony. Having spending money felt really alien anyway, I might be more comfortable when I'm back where I belong.

First day back today but WfH and just scheduled admin in, so hoping to ease myself back.

Spent most of this morning looking for local trail races to enter. Having said that, I spent most of the holiday break either ill or revising for an upcoming exam in a week's time, so whatever really.

Been back since Tuesday but fortunately things are very quiet because many people in my office are still away. Haven't been happy with my current place of work for a while now though so using this time while the boss is away to apply for a few new roles.

My first day back on Tuesday actually wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Was out on site yesterday too. But, it's going to be a tough year for us. Lots of projects being canned or pushed back, so very anxious for the long term.

I'm crap at taking time off, I'm always anxious, and about half way through the Christmas break I felt bored and even guilty for not working, or at least having my normal routine.

I was back in the office on Tuesday. Decided i cant do this anymore - applied for a new job yesterday.

OP, look up "boredout". It's related to burnout.

I've been back since 27th December after having the week off before Xmas. Day one, I went through all the backed up emails and caught up on the all the actions. I shouldn't have bothered. Since then nothing as although the team in India are in they're working through a backlog defined in December. We've got a routine internal audit coming up so a bit of panic from the directors ensuring we've got the Ts crossed and the Is dotted but we're in a pretty clean place. 

So for me, a restful time to stare out of the window and watch the rain and try not to anticipate the panic when everyone else gets in next week.

The pace of work is back to normal for me already; client meetings, salesforce CRM updates, account plans, internal negotiations, project updates, Q1 activity scheduling….  And not everyone is back to work yet!

Decided i cant do this anymore – applied for a new job yesterday.

This is where I thought I was going to be having been demoted, but I’m giving it 3 months… maybe I quite like the lesser level of responsibility after all.

OP, look up “boredout”. It’s related to burnout.

"Boreout" at work is chronic boredom, and studies have shown it can cause depression, anxiety, stress, insomnia and higher turnover. Boredom is an emotional state characterized by feeling unstimulated, unfocused and restless, yet lacking the desire to engage.........Boredom at work is also closely related to what Adam Grant calls "languishing." He defines it as a sense of stagnation and emptiness — even while energy exists to complete tasks if one so desires."

Yep, that sounds exactly right. I can do this job with my eyes closed but I spend 8 hours a day battling the overwhelming urge to run outside and climb a tree or jump in the river.

I started writing a job application last night so that will be away early next week. I'm willing to take a pay cut to spend more time not at work.

Decided i cant do this anymore – applied for a new job yesterday.

This is more or less where I am.

The trouble is I know this is not an issue with my job but it's a problem with the nature of modern work.  A new job is going to solve nothing.

Most jobs are just collecting a pay cheque and waiting to die.

Anyone ever used or thought about using a life/career coach? I’m trying to see if we can get someone to help a male family member think about their career/working life.

Riding the same old trails / doing the same old job .. stagnation. We need change and to progress somehow.
Motivation is complicated isn't it. I'm lucky to work in an area that interests me, I think I always would have as I had a mentality that struggled to get into things that didn't interest me, yet if the same task (a morning in XL for ex) is related to a project I'm into (eg bikes) then I get into it. There has to be a link to something I believe in or see as worthwhile. but that interest doesn't mean you won't stagnate.

What's become clear to me in recent years and changes of teams, companies, ownership etc due to the Evans sale, covid, bike industry turmoil etc (technically at the 5th company in just over 5 years now, and it gets exhausting tbh) is that interest in the product or process really isn't everything - the people and teams are equally important, their attitude to the work. 'Attitudes are infectious'. I'm happy working alone on projects so teams might not seem vital but I do think we're all motivated by others around us and ideas always improve from bouncing them around with others who are engaged.

The other risk is the boredom that can creep in when you get to a familiarity level of competence in a job. That's the sign we need to move on or up, like it or not? Being in a comfort zone just sends you to sleep eventually. I ride as I enjoy pushing my ability and/or seeing different places... work is the same?

So these days I think the product interest isn't as important as I thought, what it meant was that I was more likely to be working with people who were motivated and interested in the results, details, ideas etc and will push each other (how fast is another matter/topic). A lot of that is about management, comfort-zoners can be a barrier since a good manager is training up their replacements - which I know is hard to do, initially hard to accept but rewarding and eventually moves you up too. Comfort zoning isn't about duration in the job either, it's just a mentality I think.

I think you can find that mix of engagement and individual progress in many companies or organisations since those who have it are more likely grow and outperform those who don't. It's perhaps a case of filtering on company scale, ownership type, product/service field or other influences. None of those things will be an answer in themselves but I think there's themes that lead to having an idea of what you're getting into, plus using an interview as a chance to ask them questions about what/how/why.

Also related to this, there's an idea (Annie Duke) about 'Quit Criteria'. You can have this set out when you start a job or get it down later on. If the job raises red flags in certain areas or doesn't have certain ethics, that kind of thing, you've got pre-set terms for yourself. Doesn't mean you need to quit, it's not always an option, it just helps with keeping motivation in perspective Vs the job. Sometimes it's the job, sometimes it's a situation or our own state of mind at the time.

All fwiw anyway after more experience of changing jobs than I care to repeat.. hope it doesn't sound like patronising waffle.