Balance vs. Job

Vacation

Well, this is just a word.

In this life what we need is balance. Everything in nature and in life has its place and its rhythm: the cycles of sun and moon, the tides, the seasons, as well as our own circadian rhythm. Each rhythm also has its own wavelength.

In like manner, every person has a time of day and duration within which productivity is optimal. Someone may be OK to hack on a problem or work on a writing assignment or business analysis for a couple of hours others longer, after which the mind just gets either tired or even frustrated. It’s time to take a breather, go take a walk or get s.th. to eat or hang out with some colleagues. At Inktomi we even had video games and pool and ping-pong tables to help us unwind. If you live near the beach or better yet, work for yourself, you can also take time out to go snorkel, surf, hike, run or bike ... Sure you can go jogging during your lunch hour whilst at the office but running among the concrete jungle, or worse, on a treadmill, isn’t the same experience. At least that's how I felt.

Now after going through the above routine (.. and routine can become rather mind-numbing, sooner for some than for others ...), day after day after day, week after week ... there comes a time when a person requires a longer cycle of breaking away. We really need a change of scenery, schedule, climate, people, activities, ... and recharge our inner being.

Furthermore, there is yet a much larger point to make: life is more than the job. The job is merely a part of the wheel that makes up the whole, serving a specific purpose. Overall we require meditation, exercise, proper nutrition, socializing, sleep, play, create -- I’m not aiming to be scientific here but to convey a conceptual principle based on experience.

In short, the job is part of one’s life, it should not ever take over to become one’s life. Once the corporate milieu is allowed to take over nonetheless, a person gets to be completely out of balance, only to soon wonder where all the resulting stress, aggravation and deteriorating health came from? Even if work was something you loved, too much of a good thing is still not healthy.

The question in the end is:

What Matters Most?

I'm curious to hear about your experiences and what you're doing about it ...