Loving what you do for work is the dream for many. It's a privilege to do what you love for a living. Work, tinkering and exploring give me so much creative energy. However, like many of the best things enjoyed in life, it has to be done in moderation. It can become an addiction or consume other elements you care about in life: health, friends, family, loved ones, and hobbies that aren't work-related.

Digital labor is much more difficult to distinguish than physical labor. In a more blue-collar profession, the labor typically exerts a lot of physical energy where you have to be at a factory to do. My father started his career working for a metal distribution company. The work was hard, but the division of labor and personal life was so much more clear. I assure you I've never observed my dad welding metal at home.

In the digital age of work, what you might do for leisure looks identical to labor, even down to the software you use. Clocking out from work for me might look like logging off a work laptop with Gmail, Figma, and Webflow open, only to log on to a personal laptop...with Gmail, Figma, and Webflow open. It suddenly hit me that anyone looking at me cannot tell what type of work I'm doing or if I'm relaxing. The same way digital labor can drain and exhaust you, it can overstimulate you.

Trying to build digital boundaries

I’ll be completely honest that I struggle with boundaries so I need to be more thoughtful about designing these moments. Here are two quick ideas I’m trying coming up:

Sending this newsletter on Sunday evenings

All I know is it's important. I’m going to shift sending newsletter issues to Sunday evening. It still gives me good accountability to deliver weekly (a goal of mine) while giving me a bit more flexibility to adjust to work and life slightly. Feeling like you need to get something out Sunday morning vs. Sunday night might adjust how I treat my weekdays and Saturday. Making this change has already help me respect personal boundaries already!

Trying to do a personal creative and build week

I had an idea for something like this last year, then COVID happened. The idea is to take a week off to work on projects. Yes, I know vacations are intended for relaxing, but remember this brings me a lot of joy. The goal is to block a much larger amount of time to get deep into the work. Right now, I’m sneaking out and borrowing time from the other important aspects of my life, such as my friends and family.