Manage your energy

For a long time, I’ve believed that giving 100% of your energy or effort is not beneficial, especially when it comes to work or entertainment.

I recently discovered a post on when to stop, it says if you push yourself too hard, you may become exhausted and unable to engage in other activities such as cooking, exercising or hobbies. If you maintain your maximum effort over some days can lead to the well-known and feared state of Burnout.

Dedicate between 70% to 90% of your effort to work is ideal to achieve a work-life balance and have some energy to do activities that you like or you need to do.

However, this also applies when you do leisure activities; have you ever heard of “Netflix marathon” or “8-hour League of Legends game?“. This disproportionate effort in entertainment is detrimental to one’s mental health. After a seemingly endless Netflix series session, I became a zombie and found it difficult to reconnect with the real world.

The post also mentions how unsatisfactory entertainment can be over time. A lack of entertainment will leave you dissatisfied. As a result, this aspect of life requires finding an equilibrium in the balance.

Conclusion

Honestly I give 80-90% effort at work (95% in case of a catastrophic IT event), depending on the situation and my health (imagine resolving problems or completing a project while having a fever 😓).

In terms of entertainment, I’ve been playing video games for over 8 hours straight, and the feeling afterwards is very empty. I told myself, “I wasted 8 hours of my life.” I haven’t done it again; I’ve been in control of this digital addiction and have moved the balance to a point where I can enjoy myself without feeling guilty or unsatisfied.