A few days ago Tim Jahn posed an interesting question on his blog.
In short, Tim’s looking to discover why people work, when they do, and do they draw lines between personal and business at certain hours?
I’m pretty sure I can relate to Tim on this question. Like many others of our generation, Tim leads more than one life, with two jobs (his web development business and his excellent video podcast Beyond The Pedway), and he’s about to be a father. With so much going on, it can be hard to figure out where to draw the line. If anywhere.
This is a question I’ve posed to myself lately as well. I’m pretty darn busy these days. Between working for Apple, taking improv classes, working with Long Pork, blogging, assorted photo and video gigs, and trying to stay active in the social networking scene of all these communities so I can live up to the “localcelebrity” moniker, it’s hard to keep it in control. In some regards, my personal life has taken a hit, not to mention my sleep routine.
The thing is though, I’ve never been happier. I wouldn’t have it any other way.
I’m doing the things I love; I’m “working,” being pretty successful at all of it, and barely any of it feels like work. To me, there is no line, if you love what you’re doing, it won’t feel like a chore, and you won’t need to take a break from it all that often.
I love what I’m doing. I love the people I’m meeting in these different communities. I love the skills I am learning and the things I’m creating. This, to me, is what life is about: constant growth and enrichment. Yes, there are some things I need to change and cut out. But, I am confident that if I keep working at it, keep doing the things I love, and if I don’t let anything get in the way, that it’ll all eventually fall into place.
I read once that Steve Jobs looks himself in the mirror every morning and asks if he wants to go to work, and the day he says no are the days he realizes he needs to change something, and he does. That, to me, is the right mentality to have.
If you love what you do, there are no hours, and you won’t mind.
But who am I to say that? I’m just some jerk blogging from a hostel in Thailand and “working” through the vacation of a lifetime.
(and I couldn’t be happier doing so).