As part of my new focus on work-life balance and all that stuff, I’ve (a) had pretty close to 100% sleep scores in the past few weeks, and (b) been playing more Playstation. Today’s email is a point related to the Playstation thing.
Firstly, why have I been playing more Playstation? I sort of feel the need to justify this… but basically, I was reading Shine by Gino Wickman, and he recommends taking at least every weekend “off” work, ie: not thinking about work at all, and not doing anything that even remotely resembles “work”. I know. Weekends off? Shock horror right? But anyway, Gino is a pretty successful entrepreneur, I love his other books (namely Traction) and his vibe was: “Look, if you take weekends off (and vacations on top of that) where you don’t think about work, the result is that your business will actually grow, so in many ways, resting is the most productive thing you can do”. Yep I know, classic advice. Standard stuff. I even wrote about it in the final couple of chapters of Feel-Good Productivity.
But earlier this year, I decided to take it more seriously than I’ve done previously. And so my weekends have been (broadly) devoid of “work”. Which means I’ve “had” to fill them with things other than “work” – which in my case has been a combination of:
- Playing Playstation – Horizon: Forbidden West
- Reading / listening to Fiction – Wind and Truth and the Fourth Wing series.
- Going on runs – Follow me on Strava
- Buying baby gear
- Various other things
Why am I mentioning any of this? Because what I find interesting is the amount of “brain space” that’s being used up by the first 2 items on the list: Playstation and fiction books.
When I was engrossed in Wind and Truth, book 5 of the Stormlight Archive by the wonderful Brandon Sanderson, I literally couldn’t think about much else. While I’d be on the toilet, in the elevator, on a run, I’d be thinking: “Man I wonder what’s going to happen next, I can’t believe how good this is”. While I was listening to books 1 and 2 of Fourth Wing, it was a similar (albeit less strong) feeling.
And as I’ve been working my way through the story of Horizon: Forbidden West on PS5 (on very hard difficulty), I’ve found some of my excess brain space being devoted to thinking about whether I’ve got the best weapon load-out, watching YouTube videos about the best weapon and armour combinations, and plotting ways to take down the boss I’m stuck on.
All of this is in stark contrast to a few years ago, in particular during the COVID-19 lockdowns, where by entire brain was focused (read: obsessed) with growing my business and YouTube channel. I wasn’t doing much other than focusing on that one goal, from dawn to dusk, most days. In those days, my YouTube feed would be filled with exclusively creator and business advice. Unlike now, where it’s a combination of gaming, cooking, parenting, health and the occasional Alex Hormozi business video.
And perhaps unsurprisingly, back when my entire life was dedicated to the pursuit of one goal – growing my business – the business was growing pretty fast. Yep, Covid also had something to do with it but there’s this clear relationship between how much brain space I’m dedicating to something and how much progress I’m making with it.
This gets me thinking about what we often call “the zone”. When I was fully dedicated to content creation and business growth, I was so deeply in that zone that ideas would come to me at random times – while showering, going for walks, or even in my dreams. My brain was constantly solving problems related to my channel and business because that’s all it was really focused on.
But these days, my “mental real estate” or “mental RAM” is divided up between various competing interests. The part of my brain that used to obsess over thumbnail designs is now thinking about how to beat that ridiculous Thunderjaw in Horizon without running out of ammo. The mental energy I once used to script videos is now imagining what might happen next in my latest fantasy novel.
So the question becomes – is this a good thing or a bad thing?
On one hand, our business isn’t growing at the breakneck pace it once was. But on the other hand, I’m sleeping better, I’m less stressed, I’m in way better physical health, and I’m genuinely enjoying more aspects of my life. I’m building what feels like a more sustainable approach to work and creativity.
There’s this idea I’ve been playing with and observing with in my own life: that our brains have a finite amount of background processing power. When you’re super focused on one goal, all that processing power gets channeled in that direction, and you make massive progress. But when you diversify your interests, that processing power gets split up, and progress in any one area naturally slows down.
This isn’t really a complaint or even a concern – just an observation. I’ve noticed that as I’ve given myself permission to care about things other than work, I’ve seen changes in how quickly my work progresses. The trade-off seems worth it for now, but it’s interesting to notice.
I guess what I’m trying to say is this: if you’re in a season of life where you really want to make massive progress in one specific area, maybe it makes sense to let that thing consume more of your mental bandwidth. But if you’re in a season where balance feels more important (like I am with a baby on the way), then splitting your attention might be exactly what you need – even if it means slower progress in any single area.
Would love to know your thoughts on this. Have you noticed this pattern in your own life? When you start caring about more things, do you find your progress slowing in other areas?
Have a great week!
Ali xx
