Do you ever get to where every day feels like Monday? Or, you think that it's Friday, only to learn that it's Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday? Are you convinced it's nearly 5 pm, and discover that it's only 3.00?
If you do, chances are that you've been overworking for some considerable time. Oh, you may not feel that you're overworked; but loss of motivation is a tell-tale sign that this is the case, especially if for you work is play, and play is work. If you love your work, it's all too easy to think you're relaxing, when in fact you're working.
Athletes can experience a similar problem, and perhaps if I describe it to you it will help you to understand the problem of overworking.
I'm sure that you've heard of the "runner's high." Cyclists get it, and so does anyone else who exercises hard enough and long enough to release endorphins, the pleasure chemicals in the brain (you can experience the same thing by eating chocolate, but that can hardly be considered work).
The problem occurs when people want to exercise, but their bodies tell them that this probably a good idea. They don't feel right unless they do because the release of the brain chemical can be close to an addiction. So, they justify themselves into another training period.
Regular over-training eventually creates the opposite effect. However pleasurable the endorphins are, the body gets weary, and the motivation to train vanishes. In these circumstances, most people lose interest in almost anything that means getting up and moving around.
The same thing can happen with your work. No matter how much you enjoy it, if you don't build in a regular period of relaxation, you will eventually experience some burn-out. The longer you put off a recovery period, the more profound the lethargy will be when you finally experience it.
Some people need only a few days to regain their perspective; others may need a couple of weeks. From a vocational standpoint, the real danger is that you may lose interest in your business altogether. Then what began as pleasurable, becomes a drudgery. You must actively guard against that
