A reflection: I worked too much
Over the past 4-5 years, I have poured a lot of time and energy into “doing good”, through a combination of community building, policy advocacy, and volunteering with EA charities. On reflection, I think I have worked too much, and I negelected other important parts of my life. I am writing this in the hope that this gives some people permission to reflect on their workload and consider cutting back.
I have been doing these projects while studying or working a 9-to-5 job, neither of which were really improving the world, so I always felt a pull towards potentially “impactful” side projects. It felt motivating to work on these side projects, instead of having to wait potentially 5-10 years until I could move into a job where I felt like I was making the world better.
Because I have mostly enjoyed these projects, and I’ve never felt burnt out, it became tempting to keep doing more and more, and sometimes this became 10-15 hours per week. But on reflection, I think I confused working hard with impact, and many of these projects were not very high value. Even if they were high value, I was probably working too much to be able to think clearly and creatively about them.
Instead, my plan going forward is to prioritise spending my non-work time with friends and family, because good relationships are just so important. I might still take 2-3 hours out of my non-work week, but no more than that.
That’s all, thanks for reading.
I’m sorry you have been feeling worn, and am glad you are taking time away!
I really relate to this. When I was earning to give as a consultant, I also felt this pull towards “impactful” side projects, and took up a myriad of projects on top of a busy job without really critically thinking about their impact case.
Thank you Angelina, glad to hear it wasn’t just me 😊
Thanks for sharing Lucas. I appreciate the fact that I’m reading a post about you stepping back before burnout or something similarly difficult to recover from, and moving down to a level that feels sustainable long term.
Hey Lucas,
so good to read that you seemed to have found the time to reflect on how you used your time and passion in the past years, and that you’re planning to prioritize more!
Thank you Milena 😊