Someone remind me I should be grateful that I'm working.

[klook]

3. Keep your job in perspective.

Believe me, I know it's hard, since work sucks up so much time and energy. I've had jobs that meant little or nothing to me most of my working life. I'm sure this is true for many more people than are willing to admit it. The saying "Do what you love and you'll never have to work a day in your life" is great for those who can truthfully say it, but I have to be honest and say my work situation is far from that model.

To maintain sanity, I have to relegate work to its proper place in my life. The things that are most important to me (family, friends, hobbies, creative pursuits) produce either zero or minuscule income. But they are what I live for.

My job supports these important activities -- OK, and also it supports a roof over my and my family's head, meals, clothing, transportation, etc. That's all it is, really: an income generator. I get almost no personal satisfaction from it. At least I can say I'm not in a job that I'm ashamed of. It's just not one I care about that much, but it's a good living for my education, skills, and demographics.

You've heard the saying -- either you "live to work or work to live." I'm definitely in the "work to live" category.

I do try to do a good job while I'm working (and my glowing performance reviews attest to that). But in the overall picture, my job is basically a temporary necessity that I put up with while I have to.