Is anybody else finding it hard to tear away from the biz?

yup. it takes time to learn this lesson. i'm two years into my new career as a lawyer. i really enjoy it which always surprises me because i hated law school. in some ways being a lawyer has actually changed my identity just as much as being a sports writer did, because i think about things differently now. but i recognize that it's a job. the law is a career, not a fundamental part of my identity.

 

So what IS your identity? Not just you, but anyone who takes this "work to live" approach?

I've given thought to that lately. As a single person, if I'm not getting satisfaction from my job, where in my life am I getting it? Hobbies? Relationships that come and go like a city bus? Spirituality? Volunteer stuff? I know it's different for each person; just sort of curious where others find that satisfaction that makes life worth putting up with all the crap each day.

 

If there's one thing that makes my head worse than this business, it's existentialism.

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To the OP's point: Yes, I just can't bring myself to give up on newspapers just yet. Rather than leave the business or ride out a deteriorating situation, I packed up and moved for a gig on the other side of the globe -- whether that makes me adventurous or a coward, I don't know. It's easier for me, though, as I'm perpetually single and have few possessions.

I'd be lying if I said I hadn't considered another career path -- I'd actually like to teach elementary school science, of all things -- but like the OP said: I enjoy what I do now, I do it well, and the opportunity to continue doing it still exists.

 

It's interesting, this view. Because (and rightly so, not blaming you) when you've wired yourself for one avenue of thought its almost impossible to change lanes without being dragged across.

My dad taught me this lesson early but I guess I had to make a couple dumb decisions to activate it. He was a corporate big-wig for years, made six figs with big houses, nice cars and all that. I remember growing up thinking, "this guy's a shill for the corporation" or whatever bullshit suburban teens think while they're listening to Green Day and acting like they're bucking the system. I couldn't help but think that this guy is miserable because he's got this 9-5 desk job, wears a tie and attends board meetings three hours a day. What a shitty life, right? I'm gonna do what I wanna do, money and personal sanity be damned.

In reality, you don't let yourself be defined by those eight hours (and they were always eight hours, and he was always home for dinner) like you're defined by your sportswriter gig. You put in those eight hours so you can pursue what you're actually interested in... golfing, travel, family time, vacation, fixing cars, whatever. The upshot to all this is you actually have time for these things and you have *shocker* the money to pursue them. And I don't know about you, but the 8+ hours a day I put in at the paper plus the Saturdays and liquid schedule is giving me less than I ever dreamed at this point. The place where I work is great, but the economic times dictate a lot of this.

It's hard to see now because we all got into this business because of love of the game, and that's not necessarily the case with 9-5ers. There isn't a sportswriter alive that isn't a huge sports fan and that doesn't find writing stimulating. But you've got to adjust your view a little bit if you're going to see it.

Plus, there's a lot of inherent negativity in your post. It seems like you've already made up your mind. Personally, I don't think anybody (sportswriter or otherwise) should sink too much of their dependence on happiness into their job. It's not entirely healthy.

 

This is the money line in your post, spud.

Everyone -- even a sports writer -- realizes that it's not ideal, or entirely healthy, to sink yourself and/or your identity entirely into your work.

But it can be a bit of a chicken-or-the-egg thing.

People who are able to work to live, not live to work, are usually people who make more than enough money and who have a schedule that is conducive to that lifestyle.

When you have little time, because of a flexible-but-often-unpredictable-and-according-to-others'-time-frame schedule, and almost no money enough to do anything much beyond paying the bills -- if that -- well, then, your work almost naturally and easily becomes the thing that you do with yourself, the thing you expend your energy on, the thing that you care about most, and the way you identify yourself.

If that's all you have time and money for, and if you enjoy it, and are passionate about it, too, as most of us are, to boot, then it makes sense that this would happen.

It doesn't necessarily indicate that there's some deep-seated problem, I don't think. People's approaches to life usually are dictated, to a large extent, by their particular circumstances.

 

Your brothers in the trenches are holding the enemy off for as long as possible so you can escape.

So go, and don't look back.

 

Two words: Strip. Club.

 

I was thinking more like the ending of Platoon, but that works, too.

 

There isn't a game in town that loves you back. Not-a-one.

 

I agree with what you're saying, just not sure what it translates to. It's not like there are buckets of 9-to-5 jobs out there that will pay me 100k to go do whatever the hell I please. From strictly a financial standpoint, nothing I've looked into would do much better, especially if one factors in accumulated debt from years of schooling.

Example: a few years ago I looked into becoming a high school teacher. Found out that it would take 18 months - 2 years to get certified and then the average starting salary was LESS than what I was earning in newspapers. Made me ask myself if it was worth jumping through the hoops? Sure enough, my county is laying off dozens of teachers now because of the budget crisis.

 

Being an aide to your local senator....the safest job in town. "What economic crisis? I'm hiring" sayeth the senator.

 

Correct. This business will do nothing for you. It will slash your wages, implement furloughs, cut spending, make life miserable on you. There is no way any more that I will consider going above and beyond. I work my 40 and I get out. If things don't get done, tough shit. Hire people if you want shit done. You want me to work on my day off and work six days in a week? Sorry. Not happening. Not worth it. I have a life that I'd like to live. This business will not love you back, no matter how hard you try. Punch the clock and go home.