I've been a workaholic for a long time. It's something I can say without fear of reprisals or stigma, because I live in a society in which productivity and backbreaking hard work are celebrated.
Unlike other addictions, being hooked on work is often seen as admirable. When I reply to people's, "how are you?"s with "busy", I'm more likely to receive approving nods than judgmental stares.
It will come as no surprise to my loved ones that I am working during this long weekend. Many of them have raised my work habits with me over the years, but I've generally fobbed them off, or countered with, "I'd rather be busy than the opposite" and, "I know it's unsustainable, but I can't do anything about it".
Truth be told, being busy makes me feel validated. Taking a break makes me feel guilty and lazy.
Ironically, I'm often asked what I actually do. I've been self-employed since I left school, first as a musician, and now as a kind of "miscellaneous creator of various things". Filling out an ACC form is a nightmare. Occupation? Which one? When people ask me in conversation, I often get a niggling feeling that I'm not good enough. I may be a musician who writes columns, edits a website, produces campaigns, web series, documentaries and events, sits on boards, speaks professionally, and recently wrote a book, but is that really enough?