What does work-life balance actually mean?
I’ve never been able to figure it out. It feels like this ideal that eludes me every time I grasp for it. I don’t believe the productivity YouTubers or the daily habit experts. I don’t believe the morning routine soldiers or the societal pariahs.
I’ve seen too much.
I’ve seen how easily I can be dragged off course, by myself. I’ve seen how a tiny glimpse of financial reward can pull me into the depths of workaholism. I’ve seen how a Netflix series can derail entire weeks.
I think it’s got something to do with my personality. I’m very much an all-or-nothing type of guy. My friends laugh at me because every theatre show I see is ‘the best one I’ve ever seen’. When I start something new, I get obsessed. And then equally quickly, I can abandon it and ignore it forever.
So this balance thing is difficult for me.
Case in point, I haven’t sent out a newsletter in a month. In fact, I’ve barely done anything but work for the past month. I’ve thrown myself headfirst into this seedling of a business I’ve started and have neglected basically everything else. It was only when I went away for the weekend and had a brief moment to reflect on how I was spending my days did I realize how I had been spending my time in the preceding weeks.
Now of course, when you’re starting anything you’re going to need to make sacrifices - I get that. But the main reason I took a non-traditional path was to try and design a lifestyle for myself where I could indulge in all my side projects with freedom. I wanted to create a life where I could continue to take on creative work that challenged me.
So I stand here at a crossroads.
February was an incredibly strong month for me. My business is growing at a pace that has far exceeded my wildest expectations and all the late nights have been paying off in a big way. I am in the enviable position of having too much demand and thus too much work.
So, it would be easy to just say to myself that I need to continue pushing my foot down on the accelerator, squeezing more and more out of the candles at both ends. It would be easy to succumb to the A-type personality that runs through my veins. It would be easy to be seduced by the dreams of further riches. I’ve been here before.
I want to choose the path that champions life, rather than work. I want to take the time to write these newsletters because they fill my soul. I want to get back to reading books (when last did I do that?). I want to record music, and write poetry. I want to close the laptop at a reasonable time and enjoy a movie.
So, I turn to you dear reader. I must do what goes against every inch of my being and put self-care ahead of personal ambition.
Young Barry wanted to be Elon Musk. Current Barry is much wiser than that.
Work-life balance, to me, is something I don’t know if I’ll ever get right. But the awareness of it gives me a chance. I must pay attention to moments like these.
My wisdom is fleeting. I have it now, so I write. For tomorrow, it will disappear into the sands of time as the emails flood in, and the money twinkles in my eye once more.
But maybe, just maybe, I can read this note to myself and regain just a glimpse of the clarity I see at this very moment.
New Podcast: Boris, Britney, and Birthdays
On this episode of the podcast, we discuss Boris Johnson’s comprehensive plan for the UK, South Africa’s Budget Speech and Name Changes, a fascinating documentary about Britney Spears, NFT’s, and why a chosen family matters. Plus - it’s Chad’s Birthday! So there’s lots of good cheer to go with it.
Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube
Links:
Here's a strange, aesthetically-pleasing short film for no reason at all. (Link)
I’ve been obsessed with the new rover that NASA recently landed on Mars, and my excitement was kicked off by this video from Mark Rober. It shows just how much it means to the thousands of people who have spent the last few years working on nothing else but this robot to be landed on a planet millions of km away. (Link)
This is a fascinating story about how Kyrgyzstan managed to continue remote schooling during the pandemic by delivering the internet in a really bizarre way. (Link)
An interview with Beeple about the crazy hype surrounding NFTs and digital art on the blockchain. “I sell pixels.” (Link)
This is why you shouldn’t try to day-trade stocks, especially when you’re competing against high-frequency outfits. (Link)
Well, I must tell you that it feels really good to be back. Thank you for sticking around during my hiatus. I’m hoping to get back into a routine again and deliver something each Monday morning. If you’re not getting any value from these dispatches, then please do hit unsubscribe below. Life’s too short to receive newsletters that you don’t get anything out of.
But if you do, then hold on tight, there’s lots more where this came from.
Have a great week ahead! Be kind to yourself.
Barry