4 ms·

Pithy, but true. It's only half the story, though. Moderation and balance are the real key. Overwork is not good in the long term. But underwork can also be a

Pithy, but true. It's only half the story, though. Moderation and balance are the real key. Overwork is not good in the long term. But underwork can also be a problem, even when employers let it slide. Starting in my 30s, my friends who operated in the extremes of overwork or underwork started to diverge from everyone else. Overworked people were burnt out and had few friends and social connections left. Underworking people were often first to be laid off and slowly fell behind in their skills relative to everyone they were competing against for jobs. Most of them found balance and got back on track, but I know a few holdouts who went all-in on the vagabond life of traveling the world and having fun, as well as a few who have just disappeared into their work and have basically lost social skills at this point. Balance and moderation aren't really that difficult when you make them a priority. Especially in this job market where employers aren't squeezing employees as hard because everyone has so many alternate opportunities.

pknomad 5y ago
Oh man. I wish I had listened more carefully to this advice before the pandemic. I was not mentally in a good place couple months ago after being really burnt out working for my former employer (good team and good manager but the senior leadership really dngaf and workload reflected that as much). I was working 100+ hrs/week for weeks on end during the pandemic and really deprioritized personal connection and taking care of myself. Looking back, the pandemic gave me an excuse to overwork since I was really determined to jump into SRE/ops world of things from helpdesk after slogging away in life sciences after graduation. I've gained alot of weight (now I'm back to my pre-covid weight), lost hair, and lot of my social connections got strained. Fortunately I am still 30 so hopefully I'll be able to correct my past decisions but I'm finding out that correcting the direction of your decision becomes more difficult as you get older. Your bit about moderation and balance seem to be aligned with what Sam Altman's advice on life before 30 (especially points 3, 4, 9, and 29).
cortesoft 5y ago
Everything in moderation, including moderation.

pknomad 5y ago

Oh man. I wish I had listened more carefully to this advice before the pandemic. I was not mentally in a good place couple months ago after being really burnt out working for my former employer (good team and good manager but the senior leadership really dngaf and workload reflected that as much). I was working 100+ hrs/week for weeks on end during the pandemic and really deprioritized personal connection and taking care of myself. Looking back, the pandemic gave me an excuse to overwork since I was really determined to jump into SRE/ops world of things from helpdesk after slogging away in life sciences after graduation. I've gained alot of weight (now I'm back to my pre-covid weight), lost hair, and lot of my social connections got strained. Fortunately I am still 30 so hopefully I'll be able to correct my past decisions but I'm finding out that correcting the direction of your decision becomes more difficult as you get older. Your bit about moderation and balance seem to be aligned with what Sam Altman's advice on life before 30 (especially points 3, 4, 9, and 29).

cortesoft 5y ago

Everything in moderation, including moderation.