Build by Tony Fadell

Author:Tony Fadell
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2022-03-10T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 4.5

Killing Yourself for Work

There are two kinds of work/life balance:

1. True work/life balance: A magical, quasi-mythical state where you have time for everything: work, family, hobbies, seeing friends, exercising, vacationing. Work is just one part of your life that doesn’t intrude on any other part. This kind of balance is impossible when you’re starting a company, leading a team that’s trying to create innovative products or services on a competitive timeline, or just experiencing crunch time at work.

2. Personal balance when you’re working: Knowing you’re going to be working or thinking about work most of the time and creating space to give your brain and body a break. To reach some level of personal balance, you need to design your schedule so you have time to eat well (hopefully with family and friends), exercise or meditate, sleep, and briefly think about something other than the current crisis at the office.

To withstand a complete lack of true work/life balance requires a clear organizational strategy. You need to prioritize. It’s important to have everything you need to think about written down and have a plan for when and how you’ll bring it up with your team. Otherwise it will swirl around in your brain endlessly, killing any meager chance you have of relaxing your shoulders for a minute.

* * *

Here’s my advice: do not vacation like Steve Jobs.

Steve would typically take two weeks off, twice a year. We’d always dread those vacations at Apple. The first forty-eight hours were quiet. After that it would be a storm of nonstop calls.

He wasn’t tied up in meetings, worrying about the day-to-day, so he was free. Free to dream about the future of Apple at all hours of the day and night. Free to call and get our thoughts on whatever crazy idea just occurred to him—what about video glasses to watch movies from the video iPod? Yes? No? He’d want us to give our perspective right then or find answers fast so he could refine his thinking.

He worked harder on vacation than he did in the office.

That kind of crazy, nonstop focus sounds like just another Apple legend. The kind of thing only a mad genius would do. But it’s not, really.

Steve took it to an extreme, but a lot of people can’t get work out of their heads. I can’t. I’d hazard to say that most people can’t, especially when there’s a lot on the line. It’s not just CEOs and executives—everybody has crunch times. There’s just too much to do and you know more is coming, so even when you’re not doing the work, you think about it.

And sometimes that’s okay. Really. Sometimes it’s your only option. But there’s a world of difference between racking your brain, ruminating all night about a work crisis, versus letting yourself think about work in an unstructured, creative way. The latter gives your brain the freedom to stop hammering away at the same problems with the same worn-down tools. Instead, you let your mind rummage around to find new ones.

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