I'm a young professional working in a digital marketing company. I've been in my job about 8 months.
A few months ago I switched projects and clients, since then, I my work hours have been increasing steadily. At first I didn't mind putting in the extra effort, it meant going in an hour early or staying an hour late. But now, I'm tired, burned out and have no work/life balance. I'm unable to make plans because I am working 12-15 hour days and weekends. When I do have an occassional night off, I'm too exhausted to do anything.
How do I manage my overtime without jeprodizing my job? Is it appropriate to ask for a bonus, a raise, time off in lieu or set an expectation that I'm only available to work 40 hours a week?
My boss is working crazy hours too and is very supportative and appreciative of my work. That doesn't make up for my missed evenings and weekends though...
Any advice on how to manage this situation tactfully?
Priorities
This is a hard one; many of us struggle with it. Fundamentally, you're making choices about priorities (either explicitly or implicitly).
If it's a project with a definite end-date, you might just keep pushing until the project is over. If this is an endless future of 80 hour weeks, then you might have to consider a job change. Few client-facing professionals work less the 50 hours; that's just the reality of the market.
One more thought: who sets the expectations of what will get done by when? Are you able to manage some of those expectations to be more realistic? Not all clients go ballistic when presented with a realistic schedule.
Have you listened to these podcasts? There are a few things in them that might help you.
http://www.manager-tools.com/2006/05/time-management
http://www.manager-tools.com/2007/11/the-basics-of-calendar-management
John Hack
Thanks for taking the time
Thanks for taking the time to respond. I was hoping that wasn't going to be the answer, good advice nonetheless. Thanks for the resources.