Have you ever used your work as an escape from something difficult in your life?
I am doing so right now. I am currently witnessing a situation involving several of my dear friends which does not involve me at all but is extremely painful to watch. This situation makes me sick to my stomach and hurts my heart for everyone involved.
It’s during times like this that one must not be distracted when it’s time to work. I continue to work on the editing job I’ve been given. In fact, I believe that I am doing a better-than-usual job on it.
Why? you ask.
I force myself to focus on the work, clearing out all the thoughts of the aforementioned situation. When necessary, I picture myself opening the door of my condo and literally kicking the thoughts out of my domicile. Then, once I begin editing, I focus on the words, the punctuation, the usage, the grammar. And with every correction I make, I am pulled deeper into the piece I am editing, which makes me even more focused. And so I am not thinking about the situation.
Please, dear reader, do not think that I am a workaholic who does nothing other than work. I am not. I know that there is a time for work, a time for my husband, a time to eat, a time to exercise, and a time to sleep. But I also know that bearing down on my work at a time like this is almost therapeutic for me.
At one of my scientific jobs some twenty years ago, I knew a lady whose mother passed away very suddenly, and this lady coped with the tragedy by throwing herself into her work. At the time, I wondered how on earth she could concentrate. Now I know how. I am, in a way, doing it myself (although the situation I am watching isn’t nearly as bad as that involving my coworker).
How about you? Does throwing yourself into your work help you cope with life sometimes?