On Monday I wrote about the self-help myth of working hard and playing hard, a cute little line that has been propagated by businesses and especially universities around the world to show that – yes – you can have the best of both worlds. You can work your ass off to get a good degree or great pay packet and still find the time to have lots of crazy fun. As the sage Andrew W.K. once said, when it’s time to party we will always party hard.
In practise it’s not possible. When I think back to my time at university, you could split people into roughly two camps. There were those who went out most nights and did the bare minimum of work (probably because they were too tired or hungover). Then there were those who worked super-hard on their degrees, leaving them with little time to go out and socialize (probably because they were too tired or brain-frazzled). The problem, as ever, always seems to come down to time.
Nowadays, if you don’t take a proactive stance in simplifying your life, whether it be at home or at work, things will get complicated very quickly. It could be all the credit cards and bank accounts you have to juggle, the constant barrage of films, music, TV and other media or yet another project your boss has delegated to you, but if you try and take it all in (and most people do) you’re always going to struggle to find time. And while it’s great that we have so much choice, unfortunately it doesn’t mean any of it is any good for you.
This is where the 80/20 rule comes in. In basic terms, 20% of your inputs provide 80% of the value in your life. Take for instance your TV subscription. You probably spend most of your viewing time watching a very small number of channels so why have such a big subscription? Then there is your car. If all you do is drive the five minutes to work every day why do you need a big, powerful vehicle with all the added insurance and maintenance complications? Applying the rule to your workload will free up considerable time at your job too. If you have set hours like myself, it means you won’t be running around stressed out all day trying to get everything done between nine and five.
Nights out round town getting drunk will certainly help you release some stream after a stressful week at work and it’s great fun in the short term (cue happy flashbacks to my student days…). But late nights, pumping your body full of toxins is neither the healthiest or most productive lifestyle choice in the long term. Admittedly such activity will provide the quick entertainment hit you need when you have little free time from work but if you start 80/20-ing your life, you should find you have more time to yourself, taking away the need for a quick fix.
Value is the key in determing good interests and entertainment for yourself. Once you’ve freed yourself of the quick fix entertainment dilemma, you can start to look at other options, things to do that provide positive value to you. Recently I booked a short holiday after arranging a two day break from work. I managed to seal a half price deal at a nice hotel so I jumped at the opportunity and had a great sight-seeing weekend without any hangovers involved. It was high value and I got a lot out of it without any large physical, emotional or financial expense. What other high value forms of entertainment and stress-release can you think of?
January 14, 2009 at 10:00PM
Well, everybody has their own preferred form of entertainment. I really enjoy kicking back with a good book without having to worry about any of my work or school responsibilities.
January 15, 2009 at 10:18AM
I agree that we need to simplify our life in order to have a work-life balance. One thing that can be done is to do what you enjoy. Play hard at work. It can be refreshing to achieve a set of goals at the end of all your efforts. The stress associated with work does disappear. Of course, not all of us do what we like.
I do believe that it’s the quality of the time that matters. So, if we spend two hours with our loved ones, it can be more refreshing and relaxing than going pub hoping.
January 15, 2009 at 10:59AM
Value is indeed the key to getting the most out of life. The problem with the pub-hoppers (IMHO) is that they do not have a goal/destination in mind, so they feel the need to pop back-and-forth from activity to activity. Then they get stressed out and believe that the only solution is to sedate themselves.
Once you determine a goal for your life, then your actions start to fall into place and it is much easier to create the healthy balance needed to achieve your goals. Thanks for sharing!
January 15, 2009 at 08:44PM
You’ve made a good point about not having a goal in mind, Stephen. I wonder if this is a problem with society in general now, or if it is tied to the fact people spend so much time at work they simply don’t have the energy to think about long term goals?
January 15, 2009 at 09:16PM
I would submit that if one does not start thinking about long-term goals that they are going to spend a lot more time at work than they would otherwise!
January 16, 2009 at 01:18PM
I’ve met people who work hard/play hard – haven’t met a happy or contented one though. Definitely doesn’t gel with any type of long-term family commitment either.
Work smart? Fine but don’t forget to work hard either (doesn’t mean working longer hours than you or your family can take). Play smart? For some of us with commitments – you take what you can get