Am I a Workaholic? A Writeaholic? Are You?

A friend, one who loves me enough to tell me the whole truth, asked me if I might be a workaholic.

I don’t know… or maybe I do. According to the Workaholics Anonymous website, the only requirement for membership is the desire to stop working compulsively. That doesn’t help a whole lot at the moment, but the site also has WA’s version of the 20 questions which I’ve quoted here:

How Do I Know if I’m a Workaholic?

1. Do you get more excited about your work than about family or anything else?
2. Are there times when you can charge through your work and other times when you can’t?
3. Do you take work with you to bed? On weekends? On vacation?
4. Is work the activity you like to do best and talk about most?
5. Do you work more than 40 hours a week?
6. Do you turn your hobbies into money-making ventures?
7. Do you take complete responsibility for the outcome of your work efforts?
8. Have your family or friends given up expecting you on time?
9. Do you take on extra work because you are concerned that it won’t otherwise get done?
10. Do you underestimate how long a project will take and then rush to complete it?
11. Do you believe that it is okay to work long hours if you love what you are doing?
12. Do you get impatient with people who have other priorities besides work?
13. Are you afraid that if you don’t work hard you will lose your job or be a failure?
14. Is the future a constant worry for you even when things are going very well?
15. Do you do things energetically and competitively including play?
16. Do you get irritated when people ask you to stop doing your work in order to do something else?
17. Have your long hours hurt your family or other relationships?
18. Do you think about your work while driving, falling asleep or when others are talking?
19. Do you work or read during meals?
20. Do you believe that more money will solve the other problems in your life?

If you answer “yes” to three or more of these questions you may be a workaholic. Relax. You are not alone.

Many have found recovery through the tools of this fellowship.

Let’s see. I can answer 2, 4, 5, 6 sort of, 7 (don’t all freelancers have to?), 10 (sometimes – not a pattern, maybe not a pattern), 11, 13, 14, 18, and 19 (but I live alone!) affirmatively. Sigh.

Okay, I meet their definition of a workaholic; am I ready to claim that title? No, not yet. But their book is on its way to me. I am willing to seriously consider what they have to say. I’ll keep you posted.

Now, are you willing to tell us which of these questions you can answer “yes” to?

Write well and often,

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