IMG is nothing?

Read this post from Brazen Careerist a few days ago, wanted to comment then, but just couldn’t put my ideas into words. Since then, I’ve been scanning the comments and there is some good stuff there. Before I start, let me tell you about the post by Ryan Healy. Ryan wants people to realize that the whole work/life balance idea is flawed. He thinks that what we want professionally, personally, socially, etc. has to fit together and that no aspect can really take precedence over any other. He uses the contrast between the advice given to his girlfriend by her boss and that given by her mother to illustrate how confusing this can be.

At the office full of twentysomethings where my girlfriend, Niki, works, everyone was comparing their salaries, and the owner of the company got really angry. And his being angry made for a tough week, so Niki asked him if she could take Friday off.

He said, “If you’re going to be successful you need to start putting your career before your life.”

Of course she took the day off.

When she told her mother about the situation, her mother said, “If you don’t put your life before work you will never be happy.”

Hearing this conflicting advice from two of the most influential elders in your life is confusing. What does Niki’s boss say to his kids when he gets home? Does he tell them to put work before life? What would Niki’s mom say to young people she works with? Would she tell them to go home early?

From this point onward, Ryan talks about how he doesn’t even try for a work/life balance. I’m not going to quote his full article, nor continue the summary. You can read it yourself. But his post got me thinking.

I’m an entrepreneur who also works (almost) full-time for another outfit. This means that no matter what hour of the day, or day of the week I have work I can be doing. Lucky for me, I like what I do across the board, but there are still days when I’d rather be watching Naruto episodes or napping. Like Ryan, I’m young (26 vs. his 22) with no wife and kids. But even without those pulls on me, I find there has to be a division between work and life.

Why the Work/Life Distinction?

1. Somethings are just more important than others, and should be handled accordingly.

   Sure, I can send email for work while chatting. Yet, I know I can’t review my sales numbers while also chatting with Sash about Sanjaya. Sure, the tasks could be done simultaneously but chances are I’ll miss something that I can’t afford to (your numbers are your company).

   Saying that your work can’t take precedence over your life is nice, but as you move forward in your career you realize somethings just have to wait.

   This works the other way too. I may work a lot, but when my best friend’s birthday rolls around, unless something has gone perfectly, terribly wrong, I’m taking that night off. If I decide to work late instead of heading to the b-day dinner/party/bender then I’m not doing my best as a friend (and may miss some great moments).

   Notice that I emphasize doing the best I can with both the work and personal examples.

   Sometimes a work thing will have to take precedence over a life thing, or vice versa. Deciding which has the higher priority is part of finding success by any measure. Whether you’re talking about excelling in science, sports, or stripping, focusing to maximize the potential of that act or event is critical

2. Taking days off is sometimes wise, but often just weakness.

   I feel like many twentysomethings have forgotten how to work.

   Wait, let me correct that: I feel like many twentysomethings have forgotten why they work

   Ryan mentions how his girlfriend took the day off because the work week had been tough. My immediate reaction to this is annoyance: So, your week was rough? So what? Everyone has rough weeks but if you’re doing something important to you (like getting started in your career), then you need to stick it out.)If her job is a stepping stone in her chosen profession or path, then Niki should be in the office on Friday. The only exception is if she has finished all her work and would just be wasting her and the companies time.

   To get where you want to be, perseverance is essential. If you can’t handle a rough week, then what are you going to do if your firm has a rough quarter? Take a sabbatical? Quit?

   Knowing you have the option of leaving doesn’t mean you should. You need to look at what you want from your job and really assess what you are giving up. You may think of it in terms of putting your life before work now, but that reasoning will seem trite when your coworker becomes your boss.

3. Work/Life Balance is about getting what you want in Work and Life.

   I’m in agreement with Ryan about wanting everything (didn’t see that coming, did ya?); I want to be successful, I want to make a difference and I want to be happy.

   The difference between Ryan and myself is that I know I can’t work on all these things at the same time: My sci-fi fetish has to be put on hold to finish writing a marketing report. My shoe fetish has to be controlled, so the rent gets paid. I have to logoff gtalk if I’m going to make my deadlines.

   Turning in great work and doing awesome sales presentations and being admired for my chainsaw skills on Gears of War means doing each thing with a single-mindedness that can only exist when you’ve got balance.

This could just be a matter of perspective. I’ve worked for small non-profits. I’ve worked for corporations. I’ve chosen to work for myself now. But getting as far as I have and being closer to thirty than twenty, I think my path would have been smoother and faster if I’d known what to put on hold and what to push (and when to do which one). Thats really what the Work/Life balance is about.

This entry was posted on Thursday, April 5th, 2007 at 10:27 pm and is filed under Career, Life. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.