I had an interesting conversation with some friends over drinks this past weekend.
My friends and I had managed to commandeer a 4-person table in the corner of a crowded Chicago bar. After we grabbed our drinks and got situated, we began talking about all the things four 23 years olds usually talk about: sports, relationships, work. These three topics continued to loop throughout the night, only breaking at points where someone stood up to grab another drink.
As we rounded to sports again, one of my friends, Jacob, began providing a detailed explanation of how the Bengals could clinch a playoff berth given their current standing in the AFC North. As I listened, I realized Jacob blends 2 out of the 3 topics. Jacob works in sports media. He has a podcast on all things football, where he breaks down plays, provides predictions and hot takes to his viewers for hours each week. Earlier in the night, he mentioned that for each hour of recording for his show, it takes three hours of research to be sufficiently knowledgeable about what he is talking about.
As Jacob was explaining his analysis, I butted in and asked what percentage of his brain space does he dedicate to sports. His face flashed with what must’ve been a brief calculation before he spits out his answer. 95%.
What encompasses the other 5%?
It’s a mix between my family, girls in my life, and friends.
After this we went around the horn and said our own personal “mental pie charts”
Charlie: 50% friends and family, 40% work, 10% girlfriend (guess you could make this 60% relationships but he distinctly split out his girlfriend here)
Jack: 80% relationships, 20% work
Me: 60% work, 30% relationships, 10% money.
When it came for me to provide my own answer, my gut was to underplay how much time I spent thinking about work outside of work, so I added the dimension of money. Money is directly tied to work so I think this makes my true split focused on work more like 70%.
This week I have been thinking about that conversation and specifically the answer I gave.
For the past year my job has been demanding and has not only taken up headspace but has also made some deep cuts in other areas of my life. Hours of sleep, time at home with loved ones, time focusing on fitness and nutrition, all gone in lieu of accumulating hours at the desk.
When I have these long weeks where I accumulate and build hours, I tend to remind myself that right now at 23 years-old is the time to do this. I have no one reliant on me at this point. Eventually, I will have a wife, kids, and a family. Right now, I have the least amount of responsibilities I will ever have for the rest of my life. My responsibilities will only grow over time and with that I will have to re-prioritize how I spend my time. For now, I work.
I am really excited about what the next few months hold for my career. I have been able to do some internal lobbying to get my transitioned to a new team that I am super ecstatic about. The work is interesting, the team is new and growing fast, and they all work really hard.
I think this means the percentage of brain space I spend on work will only increase. I think that is ok for now, but I do not want this to become a 40 year habit.