A Social Balance

If the pandemic taught me one thing about myself, it is that I undervalued the moments spent with my loved ones.

I spent the majority of my last seven years studying and working. My social was far from inexistent, but I wish I took more time to really take care of my people. 

It is not unusual for me, for example, to spend 10 hours a day working when I stay at my parents’ here and there, when I could instead use this opportunity to schedule some activities together (except from visiting family or having meals together).

Same with my love life. How many girls did I end up not pursuing because I put my work (and myself) first? Far more than I wish.

I regret that. I am, perhaps, a workaholic with no real work/life balance. 

But I do have hypothesis on how I could solve this problem.

First, I need to be more ruthless about how I work. I need to completely eliminate distractions while maximizing my intensity. I need to keep increasing my consistency and automate some tasks. I need time limits. I need both speed and quality.

Second, I have to become more mindful of the way I spend time with others. I do not just want to hang out, I want my loved ones and I to grow from each of our interactions: make our mistakes fewer and ourselves more brave, more just, more noble-minded, as Seneca puts it.

I am lucky to consider myself well surrounded, but I can’t afford to rest on my laurels. It is my duty to not fail the people who put their trust and love in me and keep getting better.