I want to hear from people who can do this part-time successfully (work-life balance)

[bernard]

If you're someone making a full time income from websites, but also find it easy to let go once the workday is over, then I want to hear from you.

This is the opposite of "hustle culture" I want to hear about.

I've had at least 2 mental breakdowns in the last couple of years and it was pretty rough. I've also built and sold websites for several hundred thousand dollars, but not enough to financially get me in a good place.

My biggest issue was that I couldn't mentally let go. Business was always on my mind. It took over my entire life. I've been spending the last 6 months "chilling" for the lack of a better word with some of the cash from website sales and I went from depressed and very low to feeling optimistic and happy. I thought my issues was with me, but they were with my lifestyle and work.

I am sure, I'm not the only one who felt like that at some point.

That's why I want to hear from well adjusted people. Those of you, who just work, get it done, leave it.

How do you do it?

 

[JOoa0ky]

"Today I escaped anxiety. Or no, I discarded it, because it was within me, in my own perceptions - not outside." - Marcus Aurelius

I have that plastered on my wall right above the monitor.

 

[Ryuzaki]

Did you mean "part-time" as you said in the title or did you mean "full-time"? I don't think it affects the answer, but I was unsure.

I'm finally starting to comes to terms with learning how to shut down and turn off the business side of things when it's time.

To me it's all about, first and foremost, boundaries, then it's about faith. Faith in my competencies and faith in a higher power. I don't mean fantasy thinking either, but just a general sense of "it's okay, it always has been, even if things weren't always pleasurable". That's probably too far out to explore and perhaps the most personal thing to talk about publicly.

But back to boundaries, we know how to have boundaries with other people. We have to have those same boundaries with ourselves. "Just because we can doesn't mean we should."

It's really obvious with some silly absurdist examples... Just because a lethal dose of drugs are on the table doesn't mean we need to snort it. Just because we have a fist and a leg doesn't mean we should punch our legs black and blue, even if we have the urge. These are boundaries.

But what about the subtle stuff like "Should I really go browse Twitter or Reddit or porn for an hour again?" Do I really need another smoke break which is just escapism for a few moments.

And now to what we're really talking about:

Do I really need to keep thinking about business while I watch this horror movie? Do I need to be consumed by thoughts of business at my family get together? Should I really look at the hourly view of my analytics and compare it to the same day last week, knowing it sidelines me and gives me anxiety most of the time?

A lot of that workaholism and rumination is fake work, anyways. Nobody works 16 hours for more than a couple days at normal efficiency. NOBODY. It's way better to recharge your battery, and to do that you have to turn off the monkey mind that keeps swirling thoughts of work around in your head. The thinking is mental masturbation. What we really need is sleep so our brain can order, categorize, process, and store these thoughts. Then we start coming to conclusions. Because I bet most of the time our ruminations about work aren't questions and aren't seeking solutions. They're just waste of time thinking with no goal and no problem being solved.

Life is too rich to be all consumed by work. Work is a means to an end, even when it's an end in itself (as in something we love to do). It's a way to provide a way to do the other things in life, too. And if we never stop to smell the roses, then it's a life wasted.

When it's said like that, that's an easy boundary to establish. "Should I waste my life or not? Should I take some chips off the table and enjoy life a little? Can I say yes to go hiking with my buddies this Saturday?"

I think to not set these boundaries obviously hurts us in every facet of our lives, but it also makes us less efficient and effective in our work. It literally pays to set physical, mental, time, and space-based boundaries for ourselves regarding work. It's the smart thing to do and the only one who can give us permission is ourselves. Which is where some of the "faith in my competencies and motivations" comes into play.

 

[secretagentdad]

Hanging out with some guy that’s spacing out thinking about work all the time sucks. This also makes activities and hobbies shittier cuz you don’t get the full social human experience that’s usually part of them.

Consciously working to not be that guy and cutting the nicotine and adderal plus reducing caffeine shifted things to the other side of the spectrum for me.

Now my problems finding the time to think about work.

I think the most important thing is finding activities and people you genuinely enjoy. Those should naturally push their way to the top of your mind. If they’re not sucking up your attention, try new activities or make some new friends. When you’re not mentally invested in stuff works got less competition for the top of your mind.

 

[bernard]

Lots to think about here, thanks for the input.

You all have good points, I am reminded of Jordan Peterson's good advice "Treat yourself as someone you were responsible for helping".

Boundaries and finding more fulfilling activities and relationships is what it comes down to.

It isn't to do with work but everything else than work.

 

[makoloko]

This is the opposite of "hustle culture" I want to hear about.

I'm against hustle culture and "try-hardism".

Here's what works for me: extreme productivity balanced by extreme laziness (note: this is the barbell strategy).

Every week, I organize and plan high-value tasks aimed at my long-term strategic goals. Then, on a daily basis, i intensely work on a single task. Then i do nothing. The creative energy is spent, so i need rest. I go for a walk, go to the movies, read, play games, watch stuff, do mindless chores.

Some days i don't feel like doing anything, so i don't.

Of course business thoughts pop into my head all the time. For that, i write them down somewhere (like in Trello on my phone) and move on. Most of the time they are stupid ideas that i discard later without wasting any effort (the opposite would be immediately researching every idea).

I try to only check my traffic stats once a month. Checking too frequently is just obsessing over noise. It doesn't help and only hurts.

Anyway, that's what works for me.

 

[harrytwatter]

I smoke weed. Haven't found anything more effective at shifting me out of "productivity mode" and into "geek out about what I'm cooking for dinner mode" (or any other equally relaxing state).

It's not a perfect life but my ying and yang feel relatively balanced. Coffee in the morning for a work-heavy day and then bud in the evening for unwinding and recharging, with a trip to the gym in between to clearly delineate the two distinct modes.

Once I make it and get rich I'll let go of both vices and find serenity in the releasing of massive farts while practicing my morning yoga routine..

 

[Poplanu]

I've given up on finding a work-life balance.

Tried, and there's nothing constant in life. Accepted the fact that there will be grind periods & vacations in my life. It's OK to let the business dominate your thoughts, that's how you can actually go deep where others can't/don't/won't go.

As long as you take care of your physical and mental health, then that obsession is actually a feature, not a bug.

I think that's the case for a lot of us here. We get obsessed AF about things, you kinda need to do it to succeed online. This requires a particular type of brain. When I'm not obsessing about work, I'm obsessing about other things. Learning, reading, music, etc.

And I enjoy it.

If you've got a brain like that, accept that mainstream "work-life balance" advice is never going to work for you. You'll have to find your own path. Experiment with different things. See what works, and what doesn’t. And I guess also accept that nothing will be constant, you’ll have ups and downs.

I've found that having a good self-care routine is a sine qua non here. Starting the morning with a workout or a walk. As well as shaking things up once a quarter at least, doing a vacation or a road trip, going to a new place doing new stuff.

 

[JOoa0ky]

Do you know what would completely change your perspective and ensure that you make the right decision for you?

1. Think of an age that you sort of expect to live to.
2. Subtract that from your current age.
3. That is how much time you have left.

Before you make a decision, calculate how much time you expect to have to put into it for it to achieve what you want it to do.

Is it worth giving up X-amount of the time that you have left to pursue that decision?

 

[ronaldo]

For me, I keep my days very structured and in time blocks. I've been doing it for years and never needed any sort of break or vacation.

Although I'm not sure if that's just my personality or if time blocking works.

A quick summary of it is this:
5:30am - Gym
7am - Work for a little bit then get my kids ready for school
9am-6pm -Breakfast, then more work with an hour or so mixed in for keeping up with any SEO news/industry updates
6pm - 11pm - I unplug myself from any work and spend this time with the kids and then with the fiance once they're in bed.

I keep that schedule pretty much all through the week with a random day to go out in nature (fishing for me) if the weather is nice. My nutrition is also on-point which I think plays a big part in the equation.

"Hustle culture" has never been my thing and always opposed it ever since I heard it from Gary V. Yes, you have to work hard to get to a certain level but not if it's endangering your health and relationships.

You can't keep a race car going with bad fuel and worn-out tires.

Hope that helps!

 

[eliquid]

If you're someone making a full time income from websites, but also find it easy to let go once the workday is over, then I want to hear from you.

This is the opposite of "hustle culture" I want to hear about.

I've had at least 2 mental breakdowns in the last couple of years and it was pretty rough. I've also built and sold websites for several hundred thousand dollars, but not enough to financially get me in a good place.

My biggest issue was that I couldn't mentally let go. Business was always on my mind. It took over my entire life. I've been spending the last 6 months "chilling" for the lack of a better word with some of the cash from website sales and I went from depressed and very low to feeling optimistic and happy. I thought my issues was with me, but they were with my lifestyle and work.

I am sure, I'm not the only one who felt like that at some point.

That's why I want to hear from well adjusted people. Those of you, who just work, get it done, leave it.

How do you do it?

You need to rethink a lot of what you said here.

Several thoughts here:

1. Did you know there are 16 or so "personalities"? Let's not debate the number. Could be more and less, but the fact there are 16 ( or X ) amount of different people and how they think and act is the base starting point.

2. Some of those people are extroverts, some are introverts, some think, some feel, etc

3. Someone that can bust ass all day at work and then come home and "leave it all behind" fits a certain personality type. Those that have brains that never quit, are another type.

4. Have you considered maybe you are the type that just naturally won't have a work-life balance based on #1-#3 above?

That's not saying there is nothing you can do to "relax" and prevent mental breakdowns, but your going to have to know "who you are" and your type to even find the right solution. Otherwise, you are stuffing a round peg into a square hole.. forever.

Some of the things you mentioned in your post, makes me wonder about some of your choices though and possibly that you need to know who you are and what's reality, so you can align your expectations... which will help you from mood swings when things don't meet your expectations.

 

[contract]

Business is where I'm the happiest. Men for the longest time ever, were warriors. We lived for the battle. Leaders didn't just conquer land and stop, they kept going and going and going.

The after sale slump is real. Life is boring. Business can give us purpose. It's a distraction of sorts.

It's funny however, because I can say I need to stop working for a bit and unwind, but I'd rather be working when "relaxing".

 

[bernard]

That's not saying there is nothing you can do to "relax" and prevent mental breakdowns, but your going to have to know "who you are" and your type to even find the right solution. Otherwise, you are stuffing a round peg into a square hole.. forever.

Some of the things you mentioned in your post, makes me wonder about some of your choices though and possibly that you need to know who you are and what's reality, so you can align your expectations... which will help you from mood swings when things don't meet your expectations.

I appreciate your comments on personality types and you could extend to mental health as well.

I think the key here is actually making realistic choices and not just going on autopilot and trying to brute force through, when in reality it's the whole setup and mindset that is wrong, not just an effort or creativity issue.

I'm changing things up quite a bit for my next projects and I am looking for active partners (mostly content creation, but also service providers) on those projects. I've had good success with that in the past and it will allow me to not do have to force myself to work on things that I hate to do.

 

[Jesse]

I don't earn most of my income from websites, but I have worked as a contractor producing content and managing other content producers for around 15 years.

My viewpoint on this is that you should have some big picture endpoint in terms of what you want your life to look like that you're working toward, and your "work work" and business is just one aspect of many that contributes to that. However, work itself comes in a variety of forms in this way.

While I'm working toward that big picture endpoint at all times (ie: no separation between "work work" and everything else), I'm also not caught up with tunnel vision on that one singular part of the overall work picture.

 

[Darth]

When I was part time I would work before my job and then after it too, as I could/needed. I love publishing so it's not work to me anyway.

 

[bernard]

When I was part time I would work before my job and then after it too, as I could/needed. I love publishing so it's not work to me anyway.

Yeah, I know how that works, when I was a student in my 20s, I was trying to finish a degree, working part-time in an agency and then going back home in the evenings to work on my own projects. For some reason I managed to do all that AND have time for an active social life. I eventually had a minor breakdown, which I didn't recognise at the time, but definitely should have.

 

[mikey3times]

love publishing so it's not work to me anyway.

when I was a student in my 20s, I was trying to finish a degree, working part-time in an agency and then going back home in the evenings to work on my own projects.

I have a 9-5 that pays me more than my websites, but my websites pay me a decent living wage. Not enough to cover my desired lifestyle, but enough that I don’t worry about being laid off.

My problem, is I’m in my 40s and just don’t have the energy I used to. After I get home and take care of life, I’m left with an hour of time to work on websites. At that point, I am starting to shut down so I give up and browse business porn (business Twitter, business YouTube, BuSo) until I pass out.

I struggle with the shame of this cycle because all of the “porn” is of people hustling and making millions in the Creator Economy.

I have thought about selling, but I also see my sites as a retirement job. I don’t think I will ever really retire because then I will be bored.

I am actively trying to get back to Darth’s idea of it being a hobby…something I enjoy doing without the pressure of needing to work on it.

Anyway, apologies for the hijack. The “part-time” in the title caught my attention.

 

[bernard]

I am actively trying to get back to Darth’s idea of it being a hobby…something I enjoy doing without the pressure of needing to work on it.

Nothing wrong with that.

Lots of people have jobs and a website that allows for the lifestyle they want or a pension fund.

I think this is a very sound strategy if you have a job you like and a family life where you don't need the freedom to take off for a couple of months to Medellin/Bangkok/Bali etc.

 

[Poplanu]

My problem, is I’m in my 40s and just don’t have the energy I used to. After I get home and take care of life, I’m left with an hour of time to work on websites. At that point, I am starting to shut down so I give up and browse business porn (business Twitter, business YouTube, BuSo) until I pass out.

The easy solution is to wake up earlier and work on them before your 9-5, so that your main hours are going into something you own. I did that for a while and it worked pretty well.

But from what you wrote it seems your issues are more complex than that. Failure to delegate, lack of a clear vision & way forward, lack of accountability, lack of motivation, burnout. Hope you manage to get on top of it all.

 

[tziahs]

I have a 9 to 5, day job, but also work for my online clients whenever I get the time, usually after 8 pm. I always work on either Satudrday or Sunday, but always take a day off. My secret to make it all work is physical activity - I jog, swim and go to the gym.

Plus, taking the dog out for a walk helps immensely. Yeah, I do a lot of stuff.