Are you a workaholic?
Finding balance and peace in Work

This week’s edition of Sunday Coffee on Lash Artists & PMU Artist Club hosts Shay and Mia ask the question, “Are you a workaholic?” and talk about the strategies they use to balance work with their life. Mia started off by sharing that she sets aside Sunday’s for herself and nothing related to work. She block’s off the morning to hang out with her mom and dad, and spends the day enjoying ethopian food in Berkeley, shopping at beauty supply stores, or hiking in nature. Reconnecting with nature is especially important to Mia because she spends most of her day in front of a computer or her phone. “There’s so many opportunities that pass your eyes and you don’t want to blink and miss out, but I try to keep that in proportion in my life.” Learning new hobbies and setting goals such as a bucket list keeps Mia motivated.

Shay pointed out that the lack of sunlight during the harsh winter months on the east coast probably contributes to the insane work ethic that New Yorkers are known for. When there’s not much outside to do it’s hard to disconnect from working. Shay says she tries to connect to nature as much as possible and likes to spend her free time visiting flower shops and tending to her plants-- or just admiring how beautiful they are. Shay then asked, “How do you know you’re being a workaholic? I feel that you just don’t know until someone tells you.” Shay admitted that her sister is often the one that tells her she is over-working and pulls her away from work to enjoy other things.

Freya joined the stage to share that she is new to the industry but is already finding that she will be burnt out if she doesn’t tend to her personal needs-- and that ultimately her business and work will suffer as a result. “You have to do little check-ins. Make circles of everything in your life, your friends, family, yourself, and work. Check on a scale of 1-10 how it’s doing and tend to whatever rates are the lowest.”  

Audience member MJ admitted to being a workaholic, “I will work 3 weeks in a row and crash... Right now I’m still planning in the back of my mind what I can do for my website and thinking of ways I can do more today for my business.” MJ says one good thing that came from the pandemic was realizing what she was doing wrong, and that she needed to set healthy boundaries to schedule time for herself. MJ says she reserves Sundays to spend time with her husband and connect on Clubhouse, and Tuesdays are game nights with her friends.    

Work always came first in Shay’s family, her parents were immigrants and went to work 7 days a week so working all the time was familiar to her. Shay watches documentaries and reads about consciousness to combat her workaholic tendencies. She is currently following the teachings of yogi instructor Sadhguru on how to be aware. “If I’m at work, I’m thinking about my husband, if I’m with my husband I’m thinking about work-- it kills the joy of each task.” Shay says that she counts from 10 backwards whenever she finds her mind wandering to different places so that she can connect to the present.  

Christie ended the discussion with some sage advice. “We don’t get to take anything away when we leave. We get to plant seeds and nurture them, or they die. Think about what people will say when you’re gone… Gandhi and Mother Teressa didn’t even know the impact they would have. We might be in the beauty industry, but why can’t we have that? Where does your compass pull? Everything has to come from a full cup and decide what feeds your soul, because when you’re full you can share… We are human beings, not human doings, we must be.”   

There are four main things to take away from today’s conversation. The first is to find an accountability buddy that can pull you away from work to cherish life with. The second is to make circles of everything in your life and rate them on a scale of 1-10, and tend to whatever is the lowest factor in your life. Third is to make schedules and block off time for yourself. Lastly is to channel your inner yogi and be aware of each moment, counting backwards from 10 to 1 is a great way to focus. Being impactful is amazing as long as it’s coming from a place of blissfulness-- you can’t pour from an empty cup, so make sure you take care of yourself! There was so much from this chat that had to be cut out, so if you don’t want to miss out make sure to follow and turn on your notifications for Sunday Coffee and Lash Artists & PMU Artist Club on Clubhouse. Happy Fourth of July folks, enjoy your week and see you next Sunday at 11:00 am EDT!