Work-Life Balance is a STUPID Concept
Maybe you just hate what you're doing
Well-meaning people have been suggesting to me for years that I should work less. That I should get a real hobby. Do something fun.
But what if my work is my hobby, is my fun? What if it doesn’t stress me or drain me, but rather relaxes me and energises me?
What if I’ve tried the kinds of hobbies that other people like to do to pass time and have fun and come to the conclusion that my favourite hobby is… building interesting things with interesting people? A.K.A Work.
Guys, I’ve tried doing fun things, I promise!
They just don’t end up being more fun than the work I do! (You can try coming up with examples of fun, crazy things I should try, but keep in mind I live in Berlin… I’ve probably tried it).
If you’re carefully managing what’s Work and what’s Life, then you probably don’t enjoy what you’re doing. You see Work as a burden in your life and you’d rather it not be there. You want to escape from it, and when you want to escape from something, it means it’s not right for you.
“Instead of wondering when your next vacation is, maybe you should set up a life you don't need to escape from.”
―Seth Godin
I rarely ever meet a real Entrepreneur who even talks about this topic. Entrepreneurs tend to treat Work/Life balance more organically.
They work more when they feel like working more, they work less when they feel like working less. They follow their energy levels and adapt.
Work and Life for me blend seamlessly together, they weave in and out of one another without me needing to put a label on them. Everything is completely integrated. It’s Work-Life Integration, NOT Work-Life balance.
Are you always craving the weekend? That next vacation? Well, you might just have created a life you want to escape from.
Cheers,
Jonathan
P.S. I know there’s a lot of nuance to this topic which I could have gone into, like that I’m privileged enough to be able to choose the type of work I do etc etc BUT, nuance is not what this blog is about. If you’re looking for nuance, I’ve got an unsubscribe button you may want to meet.
When you put the question "How are you today?" and you get the answer "Thank God is Friday" or "You know, Monday morning...", then you know that person does have a work where escaping is a need. I heard in a podcast a theory about finding your path by the intersection of these 4 circles:
- talents
- passions
- values
- motivation
These are going up or down during life but for me this theory works really good and wanted to share it:)
I think that the outlook of life and what age you are in determines, if you understand the balance of life. We all need to rest from what we are doing and experience other things, to continue to be effective in what we do as work. Working long hours do not make us effective and productive. The brain solves problems and is more creative when you sleep properly or you go for a run or walk before going to a creative meeting. It is dinosaurie mindset and old hat thinking that you can just keep going without rest and other inspiration. If you are between 25 and 41 years of age, you probably have this mibdset as you are so career focused and think that you are immortal. But the earlier in life you understand that work balance is key to a quality of life and makes you more successful and fun to be around. Die hard work people are incredible boring people to hang out with. As an entrepreneur I wish that I had my mind of today in my 20’s and 30’s, then life would be very different today and I would have been more successful, and I would have enjoyed my journey of life even more. In Scandinavia, quality of life is ingrained in us and part of the fabric in our culture, that is why we use the word, hygge, as something about having a cosy time away from everything. So at the end of my hectic day, when doing my yoga or calistenics session, I find back to myself ro unwind, able to hear my thoughts, to be a strong and effective person the next day to be a person in balance and in good health. And that is why I love myself dearly and people around love me too, and I am able to share love with other people because I am in balance. And when you live everyday as you last day in your life, you damm owe to yourself to take care of yourself and other people around you. This is the meaning of life and this is how you become successful as a human being.