It’s a mistake to differentiate work and life that most people refer to in the work context, which implies work is the duty, which is unfortunate and might be laziness of not finding something interesting to work on. (And I agree that it’s related to intellectual awareness, education, etc.) I feel very lucky that I never think a job is a duty and a way to make a living, yes, it is a way to make living, but it doesn’t have to think that way. Most of the time, I treat a job as an arena in a game where I can develop all the skills I need for achieving certain goals, e.g. start my own business. In reality, actually, I find it pretty fun about what I’m doing, and the problems I’m trying to solve, either technical problems or management problems. It’s like addicted to playing a game. In that sense, what does it mean for having a work-life balance? I’m already having fun at work or with the projects I’m working on. It’s quite surprising to people when I mentioned I don’t watch TV or play any video games even though I have PS 5, Switch, and Xbox(dev) which is for work. Sometimes I feel like I should say that to make myself look “normal”.
Balance for me means I do need time for rest and renovation but not because the work is not interesting. Those gave me more time to explore new ideas and experiences and potentially find new or more interesting stuff.
Work on something interesting 1
In Andy Hertzfeld's book on the Macintosh, he describes how they'd come back into the office after dinner and work late into the night. People who've never experienced the thrill of working on a project they're excited about can't distinguish this kind of working long hours from the kind that happens in sweatshops and boiler rooms, but they're at opposite ends of the spectrum. That's why it's a mistake to insist dogmatically on "work/life balance." Indeed, the mere expression "work/life" embodies a mistake: it assumes work and life are distinct. For those to whom the word "work" automatically implies the dutiful plodding kind, they are. But for the skaters, the relationship between work and life would be better represented by a dash than a slash. I wouldn't want to work on anything that I didn't want to take over my life.
Rest, Renovation, Exploration
My day always ends when I’m tired and ready to go home, not when I’m done. I am never done. Like a housewife’s, a manager’s work is never done. There is always more to be done, more that should be done, and always more than can be done. (High Output Management P46)
A manager must keep many balls in the air at the same time and shift his energy and attention to activities that will most increase the output of his organization. In other words, he should move to the point where his leverage will be the greatest. (High Output Management P47)
Principles for work-life balance2
Recognize that everyone has too much to do. Other than working harder for longer hours, there are three ways to fix the problems:
- Do less by prioritizing and saying no
- Find the right people to delegate to.
- Improve your output per hour of input.
- Prioritize: while you can have virtually you want, you can’t have everything you want.
- Allow time for rest and renovation.
- Constantly think about how to produce leverage.