“When we start working, we will have so much free time. Imagine having our weekday evenings and weekends free!”
I remember saying this to my friend at university a few years ago. We co-hosted a lifestyle podcast where we would discuss things that on our mind as young adults. A year in, we had been quite consistent with releasing an episode every week. However, we had always acknowledged the difficulty of finding the time to work on it. Despite caring about the podcast’s presence and message, our busy university schedules meant that we usually found one or two random hours in the week where we both happened to be free to record, edit and more. Feeling constrained by this reality, we were looking forward to the time where the long hours of studying were no longer required. Instead, we thought, we could use the hours outside of our day job to grow the podcast.
Fast forward almost three years later and we no longer run this podcast. Amongst the many reasons for this decision was the realisation that ‘start working = more free time’ was too simplistic for our post-graduation reality. We thought that the challenge of making time for the things we care about would vanish as we transitioned into this new stage of life. In reality, this challenge just presented itself in a new way.
University studies were definitely busy. However, I had complete control over how I spent the 24 hours in my day. I could freely choose when to wake up, when to study, when to spend time with friends, etc. A typical corporate job, on the other hand, puts constraints on this. One’s occupation is a stable source of income and plays a significant role in society’s perception of us. However, you are no longer free to do what you please from 9am - 5pm; that time is not ‘yours’ in the same way it once was.
The challenge of making time for the things I care about is something that has been weighing on me recently. The ultimate goal, for me at least, is being able to say that I use your time well. What “using your time well” means is different for everyone but on a high level it involves doing things that you think matter. In one’s adult life, what they do for work is a not-so-insignificant part of striving for this goal. Given this, I have been pondering on the following question.
‘How does my career and my job fit into my life?’
Upon reflection and talking to others, I have realised that there are roughly two camps here.
The ‘work to live’ model
At university, I aspired to work a job with predictable hours and that provided me with a stable source of income. It would not too energy consuming, it may involve working on interesting problems and I may get along with my colleagues. It would be “fine” in many ways. But the job would not necessarily be something I am deeply passionate about or consider meaningful. Instead, I would find a sense of meaning, fulfilment and purpose through activities outside of my day job, with my day job providing me with means (time, energy and money) to do these things.
Predictable hours and a stable income opens up opportunities that you may not have had access to otherwise. Previously, you may not have had an evening free to attend that book launch event or go to that popular art class. However, now you know that you are free to do as you please after you clock off at 5pm and you can use your hard-earned money to pay for these things.
‘But surely having less time to do the things that matter to you is not ideal?’
This is a valid concern. However, having constraints on your time can actually help you make meaningful progress in other purposeful pursuits. When I interviewed actuary and artist Wendy Kriz-Evans on my podcast “The Generalist’s Dilemma”, she expressed that balancing an art business alongside a demanding day job makes her more intentional with the time she has to work on her art (outside of work hours). To use her words:
“If I was just an artist, I would probably get less done because I would have all the time in the world”
The ‘live to work’ model
Deriving meaning from activities separate to your day job makes a lot of sense in theory but can be challenging in reality. For one, you rely on your day job not being energy-zapping enough so that you are left with enough energy for your purposeful pursuits. Not only this, but doing the maths makes finding time for these pursuits seems impossible once you throw a 9-5 into the mix. You have a day job, which may involve commuting to an office multiple times a week. You want to spend time with loved ones and friends but also make sure you are taking care of yourself. Not to mention the small yet crucial things that keep you alive (brushing teeth, eating good meals, etc). Now you are also work on the things that you are passionate about? With what time? Given this reality, some naturally ask the following question.
‘Why spend a third of my day doing something I might not care about?’
Insert the ‘live to work’ model. The notion is simple; your work is closely aligned with the things you are passionate about. You find meaning in your life’s work, usually resulting in you wanting to dedicate more time and energy to it.
While this is akin to the advice of “finding your purpose”, there are complexities worth considering. For one, ask yourself whether you think one’s ‘purpose’ can be found in something as material as an occupation. Should you try to search for a fulfilling job or should fulfilment and meaning be found in the mundane day to day? Secondly, the journey of searching for a deep sense of meaning and pursuing that as work has no manual and hence requires a great deal of autonomy over your time.
It goes without saying that there is no right or wrong. And while these two camps exist, it is certainly not one or the other. Taking a step back, even defining what “making the most of your time” means for you and living in alignment with that will never not be hard. But as an adult, I am realising that your occupation must be a piece of that puzzle. How significant that piece is up to the individual.