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Are you dreaming of a better work-life balance?

Are you dreaming of a better work-life balance?

Matt Viera
March 03, 2023

Hickory Run State Park

Good morning and Happy Friday!

Welcome to another edition of The Matt Viera Newsletter.

Thank you for your continued support.

I hope this finds everyone well.

I was able to get away last week and spend some time far from the overstimulation of New York City. It was the first time I actually got away from the city since last summer. I'll take a long drive here and there, but nothing beats getting away from your day-to-day as often as you can.

Which brings me to my next topic: work-life balance.

But before I get into work-life balance, I’m happy to report I had two pieces of short-form content go viral on Twitter recently.

"Viral" (as others described it) is a relative term considering my small following on Twitter.

As I wasn’t expecting those posts (linked below) to amount to much of anything when I wrote the content, I’m glad the content resonated with people as both are about subjects I am passionate about.

"Work-life balance,” the subject of the first short-form content I wrote about was the first post which went viral.

Here is a modified version of the Twitter “thread” which went viral:

Are you working 60-80 hours per week and dreaming of a better work-life balance?

Don’t get me wrong, I’m no stranger to challenging, stressful work requiring a long work week. However, living life as best as I can is more of a priority. This is such a compelling priority that I quit two jobs (I absolutely loved) primarily for a better work-life balance.

If you are dreaming of a job with a better work-life balance, here are 5 reasons why you need to find that job:

1) Life is too short

Imagine the life you want to live.

Are you living it?

I can’t imagine anyone working 60-80 hours per week actually living the life they want to live. That’s 20-40 hours keeping you away from things you may want to do. Don’t let your job consume your life.

Remember: time is your most precious resource.

2) Money isn’t everything

You may earn an excellent salary working 60-80 hours per week.

However, consider the cost of your current lifestyle.

Is it worth spending 60-80 hours away from living your life? Is it worth time away from family and friends, traveling the world, or simply reading a book in a café (not related to work, preferably in a European city)?

Remember: your time is valuable.

3) Greater job satisfaction

A job with a decent work-life balance will not only lead to better job satisfaction but:

Time for activities you enjoy
More (and longer) vacations
Relationships outside of work

Remember: life is more than just your job.

4) It’s never too late to make a change

While change is scary, it’s also empowering. I graduated from law school when I was 36 years old. Most of the people I went to law school with were 10 years younger than me. Then, after investing all the time and money to become a practicing attorney, what did I do?

I quit.

Why?

One of the reasons was for a job with a healthy work-life balance rather than a job with one week of vacation per year.

Remember: make moves to live the life you actually want to live.

5) Burnout (exhaustion) is a significant issue

Studies have shown that an unbalanced work-life balance increases the risk of:

Anxiety
Depression
A decline in mental and physical health

Wouldn’t you rather have regular time off you can look forward to away from your job so you can do things like work out, go hiking, or pursue a hobby like, become a pilot? You know, fun stuff?

Remember: your mental and physical health matters.

Pursuing a job with a decent work-life balance is the primary reason I served only 8 years in the U.S. Army rather than 25+. It’s why I work for the City of New York rather than litigate cases in court. While I have to trade my time for money (work), I still like to have enough time away from work to enjoy life as much as possible (travel and see the world).

I would rather spend most of my time (and the rest of my life) exploring what interests me.

Who wouldn’t?

I’m not going to say leaving any job is ever easy. When I left the Army, I had absolutely no clue what I would do. The day I graduated from law school, I moved back to New York City and had to start all over again.

The truth is, I wouldn’t change those experiences for anything in the world.

It was what ultimately brought me to where I presently am.

With a healthy appreciation of what life has to offer.

A morning outside a cabin in the middle of nowhere....

Here's are links to the Twitter threads which went viral:

Work-Life Balance

How I Built My Current Net Worth

Thanks for reading!

Please feel free to reply to this email with suggestions, questions, or comments.