From Chaos to Work-Life Harmony

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. The sun is out but we’re sitting in a nightmare without windows. Somewhere between 2:00pm and 6:00pm, I make my way home.</p><p id="e0fb">This was most days for me for several months. Eventually my anxiety worsened and I had full-blown panic attacks, one of which sent me to the emergency room. Here is an article where I go into more detail about that medical event and how I’ve relieved my anxiety since then.</p><div id="754c" class="link-block"> <a href="https://readmedium.com/money-and-minimalism-alleviated-my-gut-issues-and-anxiety-a684bda8d396"> <div> <div> <h2>Money and Minimalism Improved My Health and Anxiety</h2> <div><h3>In 2018, a severe panic attack that sent me to the emergency department unexpectedly led me to build health, wealth…</h3></div> <div><p>medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/0*7rmQ8CLoJVF6jm84)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div><p id="13cd">After living this nightmare for a few years, I decided that I had had enough. I stepped off the corporate ladder and made the best decision for my mental, physical, and financial health. I took a job resulting in a $10,000 pay cut. However, I received the priceless gift of peace and harmony in my life. This work-life harmony has made me emotionally and financially richer.</p><p id="3e81"><b>Factors of Work-life Harmony </b>Here is a list of the ways that work-life harmony makes me emotionally and financially richer. Look for these things in a job if you want to find more happiness and calmness in your work life.</p><figure id="df11"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/0*8Nr6L0tNCHql3hzz"><figcaption>Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@dell?utm_source=medium&utm_medium=referral">Dell</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com?utm_source=medium&utm_medium=referral">Unsplash</a></figcaption></figure><ul><li><b>Shared goals with a kind and caring team brings joy. </b>The team I work with consists of people who genuinely care about each other and want to help each other so that no one feels overworked or burnt out.</li><li><b>A job helping people is fulfilling and encourages a gratitude mindset. </b>The company I work for promotes the health and well-being of people in our community and state. I am grateful to be a part of a system that cares for the community. I am grateful for my health and the resources that our company offers.</li><li><b>Low profile job equals low stress. </b>I have an infinitely less amount of stress now that I’ve moved to a job with simpler and more low profile tasks. I do not seek “higher” titles, and within a year and a half, my pay is not much different than my previous salary.</li><li><b>Clocking out means zero work-related stress during evenings, weekends, and time off. </b>I recently went on a 3-week vacation and did not hear once from my workplace. In my old job, I’d get texts with urgent issues at least a few times every time I was off.</li><li><b>A healthy benefits package saved me tens of thousands of dollars every year.</b> When moving into this new job, my benefits stayed intact. I have full medical coverage, 7 weeks of paid time off, discounts for cell phones and service, retirement benefits, annual raises and bonuses, and more. I go into more depth about benefits you should look for in a 9–5 job in

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this article:</li></ul><div id="e3e0" class="link-block"> <a href="https://readmedium.com/cant-knock-the-9-5-benefits-health-wealth-and-happiness-cb33c89cd2ec"> <div> <div> <h2>Can’t Knock the 9–5 Benefits: Health, Wealth, and Happiness</h2> <div><h3>9–5s get a bad rap but I absolutely enjoy reaping my benefits!</h3></div> <div><p>medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/0*L2gBo1j8mOjVURXu)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div><ul><li><b>An office with a large window offering a view of nature. </b>My office looks out to tall trees and people taking walks or jogging. When the sun is out, its radiance shines right onto my desk. Birds perch on the balcony outside my window. I work a hybrid schedule but the days that I am in, I enjoy my space and now get to see the light of day.</li><li><b>Working from home means more rest and spending less money on gas and parking.</b> With no commute, I am able to sleep for more hours per week and there is less wear and tear on my car. This results in less money spent on car repairs and maintenance. Low mileage also qualifies me for a car insurance discount.</li><li><b>Flexible paid time off maximizes fun time spent with my family and friends.</b> In my last position, due to being short-staffed, my manager often denied time off requests. In this job, it would be extremely rare for management to deny time off and it has never happened to me personally (knock on wood).</li></ul><p id="6d23">My new work life greatly contrasts my old work life. Financially, I actually became richer despite taking the big pay cut. I write about exactly how I became richer in this article:</p><div id="a6ac" class="link-block"> <a href="https://readmedium.com/i-took-a-10-000-pay-cut-and-became-richer-335c0b74cb3d"> <div> <div> <h2>I Took A $10,000 Pay Cut And Became Richer</h2> <div><h3>undefined</h3></div> <div><p>undefined</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/1*NHBxo3Ix-9iOwR_-GfVFOA.png)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div><p id="1461">It is amazing what a change in work environment does to the mind and body. I feel incredibly grateful to have found the opportunity to leave a toxic workplace for one of peace and kindness. If you can relate to anything in this article, I wish you the best in your search for a better work space and mindset. Peace.</p><p id="bd38"><i>Thank you for reading and engaging! I appreciate it.</i></p><div id="dc5a" class="link-block"> <a href="https://medium.com/@personalfinancehour/membership"> <div> <div> <h2>Join Medium with my referral link - Personal Finance Hour⭐</h2> <div><h3>As a Medium member, a portion of your membership fee goes to writers you read, and you get full access to every story…</h3></div> <div><p>medium.comm</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/0*ymfYw3-DRoogCf0n)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div></article></body>

From Chaos to Work-Life Harmony

Within a matter of a few years, my work life went from chaotic and stressful to filled with peace, relaxation, and harmony. And it was all as a result of changing my work environment and job.

Years ago as I was working my way up the corporate ladder, a consultant being groomed for a director position at a high-profile company, I lived in a frenzied state of mind, chaos both at work and at home. The stress of my work life trickled over to my home life causing anxiety even while I was in my personal space miles away from work.

Here is my story and a list of things you may want to look for in a job if you are seeking a more stress-free and harmonious work life and life in general.

Let me set the scene for you of a particularly, yet not uncommon, stressful and exasperating workday. My alarm goes off at 4:00am so that I can wash up, gather my lunch and thermos, and leave the house by 4:45am for a 5:30am shift. I drive in with worries of being carjacked every day because it happens all too often in the area that I work in.

I walk in the darkness of the morning, with absolutely no jewelry on, clutching my bag close to me on my right side, holding my lunch bag in my left hand and pepper spray in my right hand. It is a full city block from the security-less parking lot to the office.

I finally reach the office and exhale.

My body, tense with anxiety, slowly recovers as I walk down the long hall to my small windowless and shared office space. I settle into my spot and respond to emails from equally as stressed out colleagues making one urgent request after another.

At 7:30am, inspectors come through our facility and check every aspect of our operations in an effort to ensure safety but it feels like they’re trying to find any tiny reason to shut us down. The day is a blur of staff scrambling to find answers, find experts.

The hours are filled with a dichotomy between fast-paced investigations and time and people moving in slow motion. The sun is out but we’re sitting in a nightmare without windows. Somewhere between 2:00pm and 6:00pm, I make my way home.

This was most days for me for several months. Eventually my anxiety worsened and I had full-blown panic attacks, one of which sent me to the emergency room. Here is an article where I go into more detail about that medical event and how I’ve relieved my anxiety since then.

After living this nightmare for a few years, I decided that I had had enough. I stepped off the corporate ladder and made the best decision for my mental, physical, and financial health. I took a job resulting in a $10,000 pay cut. However, I received the priceless gift of peace and harmony in my life. This work-life harmony has made me emotionally and financially richer.

Factors of Work-life Harmony Here is a list of the ways that work-life harmony makes me emotionally and financially richer. Look for these things in a job if you want to find more happiness and calmness in your work life.

Shared goals with a kind and caring team brings joy. The team I work with consists of people who genuinely care about each other and want to help each other so that no one feels overworked or burnt out.

A job helping people is fulfilling and encourages a gratitude mindset. The company I work for promotes the health and well-being of people in our community and state. I am grateful to be a part of a system that cares for the community. I am grateful for my health and the resources that our company offers.

Low profile job equals low stress. I have an infinitely less amount of stress now that I’ve moved to a job with simpler and more low profile tasks. I do not seek “higher” titles, and within a year and a half, my pay is not much different than my previous salary.

Clocking out means zero work-related stress during evenings, weekends, and time off. I recently went on a 3-week vacation and did not hear once from my workplace. In my old job, I’d get texts with urgent issues at least a few times every time I was off.

A healthy benefits package saved me tens of thousands of dollars every year. When moving into this new job, my benefits stayed intact. I have full medical coverage, 7 weeks of paid time off, discounts for cell phones and service, retirement benefits, annual raises and bonuses, and more. I go into more depth about benefits you should look for in a 9–5 job in this article:

An office with a large window offering a view of nature. My office looks out to tall trees and people taking walks or jogging. When the sun is out, its radiance shines right onto my desk. Birds perch on the balcony outside my window. I work a hybrid schedule but the days that I am in, I enjoy my space and now get to see the light of day.

Working from home means more rest and spending less money on gas and parking. With no commute, I am able to sleep for more hours per week and there is less wear and tear on my car. This results in less money spent on car repairs and maintenance. Low mileage also qualifies me for a car insurance discount.

Flexible paid time off maximizes fun time spent with my family and friends. In my last position, due to being short-staffed, my manager often denied time off requests. In this job, it would be extremely rare for management to deny time off and it has never happened to me personally (knock on wood).

My new work life greatly contrasts my old work life. Financially, I actually became richer despite taking the big pay cut. I write about exactly how I became richer in this article:

It is amazing what a change in work environment does to the mind and body. I feel incredibly grateful to have found the opportunity to leave a toxic workplace for one of peace and kindness. If you can relate to anything in this article, I wish you the best in your search for a better work space and mindset. Peace.

Thank you for reading and engaging! I appreciate it.