It is one of those Monday’s again. Certainly you know what I must be talking about – having no motivation, energy, drive, or desire to go to work today. Perhaps I am just having a case of “The Mondays”?
Or perhaps I am just having a vision problem? I can’t see myself going in! 🙂
My problem is that lately it seems like every day of the week I have a case of The Mondays. It is starting to become more of a trend – meaning it is difficult to get started all the while I have this underlying feeling that my work is meaningless. My job simply does not provide any form of gratification. Well, I guess it does bring in a nice paycheck while working remotely….but I digress.
Certainly being paid to “work for the man” 5 days a week matters now, but in 1 to 2 years from now will it really matter? My schedule which is much like Justin’s prior schedule would certainly change once I am no longer working.
I have also noticed an interesting trend: the more Financially Independent I have become, the less patience I have for my paid work job. There is probably a graph one could create from that relationship! It has become its own circular reference that at some point will implode. I can’t seem to drag myself to attend yet another useless, non-productive meeting, where kicking the subject to the next meeting seems to be the resolution.
“Meetings are an addictive, highly self-indulgent activity that corporations and other large organizations habitually engage in only because they cannot actually masturbate.” ― Dave Barry
I have hated Monday’s for a while
Wouldn’t it be great to wake up in the morning with a burning passion to jump right into your paid working job? A nice big cup of coffee, the sun is out, and the birds are chirping. Your job is so rewarding because you get to work on exciting projects, there is no micro-managing, and you can engage in great collaborative brain storming sessions! Your enthusiasm shines through in your attitude and finally is reflected in your work product. It is simply a joy to work with a team or on your own individual assignments.
I only seem to see this kind of energy and motivation from the PF and FI community, since many have reached the other side of work (the end) and they are now able to engage/work on what they are passionate about!
The reality is that for some years now I have worked purely for the sake of making money, with little satisfaction coming from my job. For me it is an absolute assault on my senses carrying out someone’s orders – no matter how stupid and non-productive they are to the organization. What’s worse is when you work for a publicly traded company where frequently decisions are made more to align with analysts and shareholders expectations. There is this concept of closing new business deals for the sake of booking sales as opposed to what is right for the company.
I am trying to transform this negative energy and reluctance of clocking in for the job into something that can glean the good and positive aspects out of my situation. I look at it as yet another way to help give me incentive to leave. I believe it does help to have that motivation – of being sick and tired “of being sick and tired”. If I was too comfortable in my work position I may never leave. That would be even worse. It re-affirms the need to renew my focus toward reaching my financial independence.
Are you at a breaking point for the bad case of “The Mondays”?
Do you feel like you are stuck in your situation and have no control or options? I know I feel that way quite often with my work.
Perhaps it is an entitlement mentality that I deserve to stop working now because I have saved, sacrificed, and planned for so many years to get to the point of retiring? Or is it my poverty mentality coming from humble beginnings and fearful that I will lose what I have? Or is it my over analyzing and really it is just an emotional response? Or is it that I just ask myself too many questions? 🙂
It helps when I reflect on what my current situation really is – a first world problem. I have an education, an excellent paying and remote job, and I’m wealthy based on this medium household income levels chart in figure 1. I’m still completely driven to keep working regardless of being years ahead of the traditional 9-5 until 65 retirement plan.
We are fortunate to be doing better than the households in this US Census report in figure 2.
It also helps when I count all my blessings – I’m blessed with my health, relative youth, and my family, social circles, multiple options, my present lifestyle, and financial position. I reflect back on my “18 year old self” that had grand dreams for the future. Certainly I would have never imagined the path I took, the hardships, and the rewards I have received for persevering. I look ahead at my “65 year old self”, giving me a high five for staying focused in my journey.
Back to work on Monday
I realize that we cannot always have up and awesome days. Sometimes I will get a case of The Mondays. Our emotions, our work load, our health, and many other aspects of our life factor into our mood toward work. My problems are first world problems and I need to keep that in perspective.
So I will continue to make progress toward my goals. I will focus on paying off the last of our investment debt – ensuring a lifetime of passive income. I will reflect and count my blessings. Really if I think about it, how many more Mondays do I have left with work?
I will continue to reach out to the PF community to learn, understand, and grow as a person. It is helpful to know and learn from many of you that face these same issues and have found creative ways to resolve them.
How about you, do you ever get a case of the Monday’s? Should the movie Office Space be a requirement to watch for college organizational behavior and management class students? How do you work through down days?
Justin @ Root of Good says
Thanks for sharing my early retirement schedule! 🙂
It’s a great feeling to wake up in the morning knowing you’re only responsible for managing your own affairs. And if you want to do a bit of paid work (which I do a few hours per month), that’s great too knowing that you don’t rely on paid employment to support your lifestyle. With ultimate autonomy comes a lot of contentment.
Bryan says
Thanks for stopping by and commenting!
I really enjoyed your post reflecting on how your schedule has changed once you left your job. It was inspiring to see how much time you had to do the things you truly enjoyed.
I am hoping that will cure all my future reoccurrences of The Mondays! 🙂