11 Things People Don’t Realize You’re Doing Because You’re An Overachiever
1. You always stay up past midnight — even though you keep promising yourself you’ll get to bed early.
You spend entire days working your ass off. Nighttime is when you finally have a few minutes to scroll through social media on your phone and laptop. You know there’s no reason for you to keep yourself up with YouTube videos and Netflix originals, but you feel like you’ve earned a little relaxation.
2. You always make self-deprecating jokes about how untalented you are.
Your biggest fear is that you’ll end up as a failure. So instead of bragging about everything you’ve accomplished and risking someone tell you that you aren’t any good, you would rather lower their expectations by acting like you suck. Like you already know you aren’t special.
3. You freak out over every birthday.
Instead of looking forward to birthdays, you dread them. You don’t want proof that another year has passed without you achieving your dreams. You can’t help but compare yourself to other people your age who are richer, happier, and more successful. Whenever your age goes up, your self-esteem goes down.
4. You are always distracted.
Even when you’re out with your friends, even when your mind is supposed to be off of work, you’re still answering emails, checking social media, and thinking about all of the things you have to get done. Your work is never finished, even when your work day is.
5. You take forever to finish projects.
It’s not that you’re lazy. It’s actually the opposite. You’re a perfectionist, so it takes ages to get things exactly the way you want them. When you write, you can spend hours searching for the perfect word or for the perfect way to put a sentence together. Little details matter to you, and you hate the thought of letting other people see your work when you feel like it could have been much better.
6. Sometimes you forget to do basic human things.
You might skip lunch without even realizing it, because you were in the zone and had no time to think of anything else. Or you might go a little too long without showering or brushing your teeth, because your mind was occupied with more important things.
7. You’re the flakiest person in your friend group.
Sometimes, you cancel plans at the last second because you’re burnt out from all the running around you’ve been doing. And sometimes, you say that you’re unavailable from the start, because you would rather be productive than go party.
8. You are the ultimate multitasker.
You never have enough time to sit down and watch a three hour movie or go out to eat with a group of friends. So whenever you’re watching TV or talking to loved ones, you’re also on your laptop or your phone. You’re there, but you’re not there. It’s hard for you to enjoy the moment and be present.
9. You aren’t worried about what you look like.
Most of the time, you do put effort into your appearance. But if you have to leave the house ASAP and don’t have time to do your hair and makeup, that’s okay. You don’t care what you look like as long as you get shit done. You aren’t the superficial type.
10. You talk about work the way some of your friends talk about boys.
It’s your favorite topic of conversation. You always have a new story about one of your coworkers or about the project you’re working on or about the lack of sleep you got last night because you’ve been busy as a bee. Work isn’t your entire life, but it’s a massive part of it.
11. You’re never happy with yourself — even when you should be.
No matter how much you accomplish, no matter how successful you look from the outside, you still feel like you haven’t done enough. You still feel like you could have done better. You’re your own worst critic. The only person who isn’t proud of everything you’ve become.