Don't chase balance

Chasing balance led me to being stressed out.

You hear it so often: “You need work-life balance.”

But the problem is that I am naturally curious, and I have many interests.

I have an agency and a couple of SaaS projects.

I love staying up to date with bleeding-edge tech.

I like being fit, going to the gym, dancing bachata, and doing acroyoga.

I love to travel, explore, and spend time in nature.

I enjoy going to meetups, seeing friends, and hanging out.

But I can’t do all of that at the same time.

For a long time, I tried, but it led me to being spread too thin.

I ended up feeling stretched in all directions, overwhelmed, and like I’m always behind on something.

So now I say: don’t chase balance.

Choose your priorities. Focus on the important stuff. And let go of the rest.

If an idea or project is your current main interest, then strike the iron while it is hot, pull an all-nighter if you have to, and go down that rabbit hole if you must.

Don’t commit to new obligations.

Instead of trying to do many things at the same time, there is another way to do many things.

Structure life in chapters.

Prioritise one thing for a few years, master it, then switch.

Another thing becomes your focus and you can master that too.

Now you don’t feel stretched, and your attention can focus.

Focused attention elevates your output and increases your success.