Work/Life Balance

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I'm thinking I'm going to try looking for a new position. I like a lot about my current job (I work as a researcher for an NGO), but one thing I'm having trouble standing much longer is that you're never off duty. I wind up seriously frayed if I don't have a chance to unwind and focus on my hobbies, like Japanese and gaming. However, even if I'm not technically on-duty (which I am 50+ hours a week, often including weekends), I usually wind up panicking that I should be on-duty and I never get a chance to fully unwind, which leads to me trying to squeeze my hobbies into work hours, making me less productive. Stuff's going to be ramping up after the upcoming election, so I need a way to handle my nerves at least until I find a new position (which won't be till Feb at the earliest). Any tips?

Are you supposed to be on call 24/7? If not, develop the mentality that when you clock out, you clock out. Also learn to exercise or something to relieve stress anyway. Even going for a walk will relieve stress.

Find other stuff to occupy your mind. Do you have work that spills over which you're worried about finishing?

I find it difficult because I don't work set hours. A lot of what I do is on a voluntary basis, so I find myself responding to emails at random times, however when I'm doing other things I don't really think about work that much.