Symbiosis describes a scenario when two different organisms are able to mutually co-exist or live together intimately, in spite of their differences. In fact, the differences can sometimes be an advantage. I find this interesting because symbiosis could also describe the relationships between various aspects of my life (and other people as well).
From a certain perspective, my work, personal life, exercise, and sleep seem to all have competing goals and time requirements. In order to focus on one, I have to ignore or put off another.
However there’s another perspective, and interestingly enough, this one is backed by data:
- I measure my time, both personal and professional using an application called Harvest. This tells me how long I spend on different tasks each day. I even use Harvest to track some of my personal time: spending quality time with family, friends, my dog, etc. I use Asana to track my tasks and projects, both personal and professional. At the end of the day I can look at Harvest and Asana to get a sense of how productive I was.
- I measure my sleep using an app called sleep cycle. Sleep cycle measures how long I’m asleep and the relative sleep quality from night to night. Sleep cycle also pulls activity data from my fitbit, which tracks (approximately) how many steps I take each day. I also input sleep notes that add additional data points about how different factors impact my sleep quality, things like coffee, drinking, and exercise.
It turns out that when I exercise I sleep better. When I sleep better I’m more alert and productive at work. When I’m more productive at work I have more time for my personal life and exercise. When I spend time with friends, family, and my dog, I don’t feel so stressed and burned out at work.
While all of the various aspects of life seem to be in competition with one another, it turns out that peak performance exists in balance, rather than extremes. Since balance is one of my three themes for 2014, I’m going to make a conscious effort to let these four aspects of my life all have a fair share.