In order to help others, YOU need to help yourself first!

If you plan a trip...and you drive your vehicle hard, with no maintenance...your most likely going to break down...THEN look at what that will/would have cost ya!

So, get a little R&R...before you break down. Just a little friendly suggestion.

Well, as I've said earlier in this thread, I did just come back from vacation. So, I've had rest and relaxation.

Simple...I retired.

Ahhh Sweets. I hear you.... I hear you. I suggest long walks on the beach, dressing up to go out or dressing down to cuddle up on the couch to stay in and watch a movie, and no drama.

I had a job for 8 yrs one time. Mon-Fri, 8-4:30
No nights, Holidays, week-ends or call.
Pay was so-so, benefits were great.
2.3 miles from the house.
I could take time off easily, often without much notice.

Sounds like a dream......

At the end of 8 yrs I had to eat breakfast at the sink in case it came back up, I was so stressed out/burnt out.

I left, went into a completely different area of nursing and I have been so much happier.

I do my best, and let life take care of the rest.
I can't fix the system, the people, the Dr.s, the patients, my co-workers......

The place I left is doing just fine without me too.

i remind myself that my neighbor lost his job and then lost his house.

that is pure motivation.

I'm not really talking about motivation. I do understand that people are losing their jobs and I'm lucky to still have mine. However, that still doesn't really change the current situation.

Sweets, might I suggest a vacation???

I do think another vacation is in order. Though, I don't think it will change anything at work!

when work gets to me, I remember that I am going to school for a reason and I wont be there for ever!! Woo HOO!!

I try to do something nice for myself like a getting a massage or taking my day off and just driving down to the beach and just having "me" time.

A massage would be wonderful. I might have to get one sometime soon.

A vacation won't fix your problem. You're doing a job that you don't love. If you don't love what you do you will get burnt out on it. That's not to say that you don't like your job, it's just that you don't love it. You don't get up in the morning and are happy to go to work.

Unfortunately with this economy right now it's a more difficult position for many people because of so many others losing their jobs. Take your time, do some research and figure out what you would want to do that would make you happy. Figure out ways to get towards that goal if it's something that's realistically within your reach / means.

Only then will you not get burnt out.

exactly what I always did, there's no other way, but you need the "me" time to do it, with quality. Good luck!

You've pretty much repeated what I've already said. But, thanks.

Considering that you have taken vaca time, changing jobs isn't an option, and face it... we all have bills to pay, you may have to either buck up and spend what little bit of personal time you have to "decompress" or you may need to talk to someone in a position of authority about your concerns to get something done. Really it depends on the dynamics of your situation.

I know that I have different jobs (including the one I'm at now) that drive me up the wall. I love what I do, I enjoy the majority of the people I work with, but in my case my boss is a idiot, at best.

What I have come to do is just go in, do my job to the best of my ability and go home. I still am productive, congenial with the staff, respectful to my boss... but I've left the stress at the door. I refuse to let "this place" and "that woman" impact my sanity (or lack thereof). Does it work every day? No. But it does give me bit of piece of mind. I know that there isn't another job out there at the moment for me, so I bide my time and make the best of it.

Sometimes you just have to do your job and let go enough to let the others do theirs. Personally, I am an OCD freak. I will help someone else to make sure "it" is done right and end up taking on much more than I really need to. I have learned to do what I need to do and move on. I can't fix it for them and if I do... I pay the price by getting worn out. Making sure everyone else is doing their thing is NOT worth my sanity.

And that's essentially the case- trying to strive for too much in a company that will either not recognize your efforts or compensate you for your time is simply not worth it. You can work as hard as you can at your job, but if all that results in it being shipped to India or some other "developing" country, there isn't much in the way of a result.

This this essentially happening to a friend of mine who lives in Portland, Oregon- he's been at his job for over a decade and made sure to bust himself wide open to get it done. And what did his company do as a result? They took his position and shuffled it off to India.

He has to sign on to another position (at a 20% pay cut) or be laid off, which is NOT a position anyone wants to be at the moment with our rather crappy economy.

My own position is not too dissimilar, either- the last fifteen years (with the last five years especially being the case) saw my work leave for all sorts of international pastures, such as Canada, Eastern Europe, and Australia/New Zealand, and all because corporate Hollywood deemed it necessary to maximize their profits even further than they already have. You have to wonder how they will claim they "have no money" and yet spend nine-figures to construct whole studio complexes in such foreign countries.

And don't get me started on the ineptitude and the mediocrity that I often have to deal with while working, as well- the stupidity often runs so deep in the business that it's a wonder ANYTHING can be done.

In the end, you just have to what you need to in order to get your job done. Just do whatever you can and don't go about trying to bite off more than you can chew. Going the extra mile with a company that simply won't appreciate your efforts is simply not worth it, as you'll only add more stress to yourself.