In our productivity-obsessed, always-on world it’s easy for busyness to become a badge of honor. But sometimes that effort-ing transforms from the reasonable pursuit of our goals into workaholism: a compulsive, even addictive drive to work. In today’s episode Forrest and Dr. Rick explore what workaholism is really, the psychological functions it serves, and how it relates to other addictive behaviors. You’ll learn both how to approach changing behaviors like workaholism in general and specific interventions that can help.

You can watch this episode on YouTube.

Key Topics:

0:00: Introduction

2:20: Differentiating workaholism from working hard

9:40: Preempting criticism, and your internal audience

17:10: Competence, approval seeking, and motives

23:50: Addiction without social stigma

28:40: Population groups more prone to workaholism

33:50: The stages of change 

37:45: Moving to the wider view, craving and regret

40:55: Embodying your future self, and social support

43:10: Identity, and creating a coherent narrative

46:00: Underlying feelings, mindfulness, and making choices

49:20: Distinguishing being and becoming

52:25: Tracking your time, and scheduling time off

54:50: Giving others influence over your behavior

56:20: Rick’s personal experience navigating a healthy work ethic

1:01:20: Recap

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