Work-life balance? Bullshit.
You know how those job-ads say they promote work-life balance? What’s with the dichotomous representation putting life and work against each other. Are you not living when you’re working?
If there’s an advice i would give to my younger self, it would be that - work never ends. Train yourself to not respond to work all the time. Try meditation, yoga, have hobbies outside of work.
Since my new job posting this year, and that I’m still running openjio, and a new startup on the side - my schedule has been so packed, and I could sense early signs of my body being unable to take the stress.
Today’s like the first day where I’ve half a day to myself. I just spent about 2 hours watching some kdrama. My skin’s been flaring (I’ve been suffering from topical steroid withdrawal - TSW) perhaps due to stress, my skin feels inflamed right now. It has been peeling. I shiver as my red skin burns on my arms and legs :(
Read more about my TSW experience here: eczemachampion.wordpress.com
The thing is. Even if I’m not running my 2 side gigs, does that mean my health will be better? I doubt so.
My mind may still be consumed with whatever existing work I have, if i am not careful. Having 2 side gigs forces me to prioritise and set boundaries I would otherwise not have. I have said ‘no’ to many people this month (which i struggled alot with, and still do)…and learnt that it’s not so much about rejecting others. It’s about protecting myself and my energy that’s needed for the work I want to do.
It’s really not about work-life balance. Rest isn’t something to do when you finally get to go on leave after months of hard work.
Rest (and release) is something we need everyday to replenish our energy.
Yea, like duh, but knowing it and doing it are two different things.
The most basic rest I aim for is getting sufficient sleep. I can sense that my performance drops by about 30% if I don’t get sufficient sleep (7hrs); and even more if I accumulate my sleep debt. It means sleeping on time too (11pm).
I had set a goal to sleep early and sleep more in one of the leadership programmes i’ve been to. Sounds easy but I remember missing the mark because, I was just too preoccupied with my work.
I pay the price. I crash on saturdays, spend $5 daily on coffee, and sometimes I feel like a zombie at work.
Any leadership books you read will tell you to first get the foundational stuff right - sleep, exercise, diet. Lacking in any of these, one may experience somatic (body) debt which creates a scarcity mindset - meaning that we can’t function at our best. You know what I mean. That day where you get triggered easily, or forget your keys, or struggle to stay awake, or …gastric, kidney stones, shoulder pain?
So, here’s 2021 and back to basics.
Work-life balance? Bullshit.
Energy management is key. Managing our energy is something within our control. To do great work, we first need to take care of ourselves.