When I was younger in my career, I took pain to separate “work” and “life.”
This manifested itself everywhere, from having two phones (a “personal” one and a “work” one), to not mixing “work friends” and “real friends,” to getting really upset, anxious and drained when I inevitably had to work a weekend or a long night.
Gradually, I realized that, sometimes, writing just one email on Saturday could save 4 hours on Monday; that, sometimes, you meet amazing friends at work; and that, the better you get at what you do, the more fulfilling it becomes.
Today, I no longer view work and life as separate — in fact, I try to integrate them as much as possible.
I bring my life to work, by trying to be my self at work; and bring my work to life, by trying to comport myself as the professional that I am.
Counterintuitively, integrating work and life creates more time for both, compared to separating them.
Work-life balance is not a helpful concept or term; work-life integration is better.
Don’t separate work and life — realign both towards a more comprehensive, higher purpose.
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Pic: Me as a baby lawyer at Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP ☺️
