On Diversifying Your Life and Interests

I recently read a blog post entitled It's Okay to Code on Nights and Weekends. In it, the author describes their personal journey with self-acceptance as someone who codes as both a career and a hobby.

It was a great post, and provides a balanced perspective. But while I appreciated the overall tone of the article, I have to say that I couldn't relate less to them. What I found the most valuable was that they acknowledged that such single-minded devotion to an activity might not be realistic for most people.

It's interesting to me that someone would report feelings of guilt and judgment over coding too much. The fact is that our society celebrates overwork and unhealthy levels of dedication to the point of burnout. If a person faces judgment while living as this kind of "model citizen," it sounds to me like a non-problem.

Let's acknowledge that the opposite experience is more widespread and more toxic: society and career pressures force us into working too much and feeling underlying anxiety if we don't push ourselves to the breaking point. With that context in mind, I wanted to reiterate a few points that I needed to hear again. Not exactly a rebuttal, but merely a perspective that feels more countercultural and worth repeating.

1. If you're a parent or caretaker, don't beat yourself up about not working overtime. The human mind and body only have so much capacity, and you are doing enough.
2. 40 hours is enough. It's more than enough. In fact, some would say that 40 hours is too much if you truly care about operating at peak creative output.
3. You aren't falling behind. If you're a coder or technical contributor, your standard work hours provide enough time to stay up-to-date on technological changes and contribute meaningfully to your organization.
4. You can take your job exceedingly seriously while also setting strict boundaries around it.
5. A diversity of interests can help drive new connections in your primary work and life. The only way to diversify your experience is to work less.

There is more that could be said about each of those points, but that is for another time. I just know that I needed to hear it again after reading that post. Going into the new year, I hope to be a voice for people seeking balance against the death march that most companies would happily to push us into.

Have you found balance in your work life and hobbies? Conversely, have you found joy in the blurring of those lines? Either way I'd love to hear about it.