Welcome to the Time Capsule — a weekly newsletter that discusses the practicalities of life and explores the wisdom, ideas, and events of the past to help you build a better future.
✏️ Work-Life Integration
Having come off the back of a quite busy and stressful first semester of graduate school, I am now currently enjoying the extra breathing space that comes from a reduced course load and a lack of TA responsibilities. Last semester was a good exercise in discipline for me, as I took on a little more work than I was comfortable with — however, having a bit more free time to allocate to other endeavours has reminded me how valuable one’s time is.
I currently have a few projects, work and non-work-related, which have excited and energized me and which I find myself working on well outside of the regular working hours of the day. The expenditure of my time on things that I find interesting and enjoy, as well as a conversation that I recently had with a friend, has got me thinking a lot about the idea of work-life integration. I don’t think I would enjoy not having any projects or work to do, but simply trying to balance work and personal life is not a good solution either. What I am currently trying to find more of, and have found to a degree, is exciting, interesting and challenging work just outside of my comfort zone. Work that doesn’t need to be balanced because you would do the work anyway. The best work is done when it is integrated into your everyday life: instead of dedicating 8 hours a day to work that doesn’t excite you, you have 24 hours a day to think about problems, dream about solutions, and read about adjacent fields that will help you reach your objectives.
The life hack when it comes to a career is choosing work that integrates well with your interests and hobbies and facilitates your ideal daily lifestyle.
Then, as they say, you will never have to work a day in your life.
📸 Photo of the Week
📖 Book of the Week — The Pathless Path by Paul Millerd
This book came out at the perfect time for me. Paul Millerd is an internet friend of mine who has been leading the conversation around changing the relationship between life and work. He left his lucrative career in strategic consulting — what he calls the ‘default path’ — to leap into the unknown and pursue the ‘pathless path’, prioritizing health, relationships, and his inner creativity over money, titles, and status. This book very much describes the dilemma that a lot of people face in life: I certainly feel the pressure to go through the conventional hoops that lead to the stable, and often high-paying, jobs that are [supposed to be] at the finish line. The pathless path is an alternative that offers uncertainty, but also freedom, space to pursue interests and passions, and time to spend on the things that matter most in life.
We are told the story that conventional full-time work is a significant and non-negotiable feature of life — is that really true?
💭 Quote of the Week
Self-esteem is the ability to see yourself as a flawed individual and still hold yourself in regard.
Esther Perel
🔭 Sunday Best
How to Build Wealth — Episode 2 of the Kosher Money Podcast with Naftali Horowitz, Managing Director and Wealth Partner @ JP Morgan Wealth Management.
What Does Jesus Have to Do With STEM? — A blog post by Dr. Mitch Stokes.
How to Spend Your First 90 Days — in a new job.
💡 Food for Thought
Be the best you can be, but don't take yourself so seriously.
Another one.
See you next week,
AT