As I write this, we have just "sprung forward" time-wise and the weather seems to have finally caught up. The sun is out and it's made me realize what I have been missing the last few weeks: balance.
I take long walks both for exercise purposes and to clear my head (and apparently Steve Jobs did this as well). With the East Coast's never-ending winter and snow, I've had fewer walks and those that I did have were not quite as productive given the ice and puddles I had to be wary of. This has led to more headaches and stress since I've been spending too much time cooped up and staring at a monitor.
Balance is key. It allows you to recharge and have the positive energy to keep going and be productive. Otherwise you're fighting a downhill battle and your efforts will get progressively less effective and require more effort for the same results.
I also decided to allow myself to read fiction over the weekend and read the business books during the week. As much as I enjoy business books, they do make me think and learn (hence YourMBR and my blogging), and I just needed some balance.
This applies professionally too. Everything requires balance. If you're spending all your time and energy on doing something, building something, launching something, what will you have left over if and when you succeed? And will your success be the best it can be if you haven't achieved it with balance and the chance to recharge along the way?
I've always had perfectionist and overachiever tendencies. I remember my parents telling me often, as I grew up, that too much of anything—even good things—was bad. Well, they were right. (Thank you, Mom and Dad.)
Do you have balance? If not, what is the one activity that you can do more of to achieve this?
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