Jeff Bezos talks about Work life harmony..I didn’t really internalize it till last week.
Last week, I was on PTO in India, spending time with my parents, catching up with friends, and recharging in ways I didn’t realize I needed.
When I’m in the US, things are pretty much on auto-pilot and I’m usually in work mode. But being in India forced me to dedicate real attention to non-work things for an extended period of time (1 week).
And here’s the thing about running a startup: your work can’t suffer regardless of whether you’re on PTO or not. This was not easy..
So instead of trying to “balance” work and life, I tried to harmonize them. Do the minimum needed to keep the machine accelerating while being fully present with the people I care about.
In practice, that looked like working from airport lounges between flights, sneaking in an hour before sleep, and catching up on emails mid-air.
Now that I am back, it doesn’t even feel like I am starting after a break. The transition is seamless, but I still feel I got some very high quality time with friends and families while in India.
I used to think Jeff Bezos’s comment was a clever reframe. Turns out, its a real thing.