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Work-Life Balance
18 Plays1 year ago
Beware: spicy content!! Coming from two very different perspectives and life stages, Liam and Dak tackle the hot topic of work/life balance: how to prioritize yourself in this wild world.
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Transcript
Introduction to 'The Commute'
00:00:00
Speaker
What's happening in LD? Here we are on another episode of the commute. I'm loving this so far. I hope y'all are too. We're hoping to connect us on your journey to and from work or while you're at work or while you're at home topics that might inform and inspire.
Meet the Hosts: Leo and Zach
00:00:19
Speaker
I lead user experience here. My pronouns are he and him and I'm thrilled to be joined by a friend today.
00:00:27
Speaker
Zach. Thank you so much, Leo. How are you, man? Good, good. Pronouns, he and him. I'm on the design team as well, product designer, PCX HQ, shout out. You. I'm very excited to be here. I also have a podcast. So it's kind of cool to see how LD is kind of creating it and allowing this space to exist. So thank you for
Zach's Journey with 'The Madness'
00:00:46
Speaker
the invite.
00:00:46
Speaker
Of course, man, that is actually here auditing the process and scrutinizing everything we do and are using so that you can tell us how it's really got to go down. And stealing equipment after. That's it. Exactly. Yeah. We got the gear all of a sudden. What's, uh, what's your podcast? My podcast is called the madness podcast. Uh, we're entering our fifth season wild, crazy veterans. Um, and we've been talking about just relevant topics from like, and it used to be an advertising perspective. Now it's more so like a tech marketing perspective.
00:01:16
Speaker
All right, Mad Max, check it out. Spotify, all
Exploring Work-Life Balance
00:01:20
Speaker
the places. Anywhere. Just search it up.
00:01:23
Speaker
Let's get into it. So of course I thought of you first when we started planning this out because I listed your pod. I know you got thoughts and you're naturally, uh, you know, eloquent with, uh, with these things. And so you suggested some themes and, and as we get into this year, we're settled into 2024. We've all thought through our resolutions, our ins and outs and, you know, how we want to live this year and what we might change. You brought one to me that, um, that, that, that hit home.
00:01:51
Speaker
Yeah. Work life balance. Yeah, I was trying to think of, OK, what topics I want to talk about like a work focus podcast. Right. What can I what can I speak kind of almost endlessly about? Right. And I tried to think of what did I struggle with in the past that I no longer struggle with now? That's kind of the frame of thinking. I went into the topic at least and work life balance for anyone that's known me before the pandemic. And I'll get into the reason why of that. But
00:02:21
Speaker
I really did struggle with you know separating myself from what I did and not to say that you need to but you know I used to work in a field that in an advertising field sure I was working very long hours every single day right I took a lot of pride in obviously what I did and I still take pride in what I do now
00:02:43
Speaker
but it was like one-to-one. Who I was as an account manager was Dakari Turner, was Dr. Turner. And I would bring it up every chance I possibly could get. Me being this person in advertising was who I was and I found I wasn't
00:03:00
Speaker
Entertaining other hobbies or I didn't have really any other interests.
Zach's Pandemic Discoveries
00:03:03
Speaker
It just that was me You were at a pretty hot agency if I remember I think John Street Street. Yeah. Yeah for how long for three years Okay, and I worked at another agency after that for about a year Okay, and so so so tell me how that came to life Like what was Dak like on and off the field has as an account manager at John Street Yeah on and off the field. I was an accountant
00:03:27
Speaker
So it's funny, I used to work on the law blog account. So working on ads for President's Choice, Holiday Insiders campaign, it was done like that. But I would be telling my friends and family all about it all the time. And I could just tell, they were like, oh my god, we get it. You work at an agency. And people would ask, what do you do for fun? That was always such a hard question for me to answer.
00:03:56
Speaker
What do you mean? What do I do for fun? I don't know. I work. I work, right? There's nothing wrong with it. You should enjoy what you do. You should have purpose in what you do. Someone told me this thing where it was what you do is often the least interesting thing about you. And that kind of resonated with me where we're people. We have families. We have hobbies. We have passions. We have all these.
00:04:19
Speaker
dreams and things like that. And sure, you got work for a long amount of time and you should find purpose in it. But you do all these other things. Your father. Right. That's it. Your husband. All these other things. That's it.
00:04:32
Speaker
That's a full picture of more than just it was on there. Yeah, exactly the You know when we were sort of dreaming about this topic, I'm thinking last night like gosh When am I gonna bring this conversation? Because I feel like the the fork in the road for me having a life is like getting married and having kids and that's sort of those decisions Sort of predicate what you do. And of course their intentional decisions. I love that life and
00:04:57
Speaker
But my version of having a life outside of work is probably very different than yours because I got two little kids at home. So tell me, after realizing that, looking in the mirror and being told by others that all you do is talk about your job or what you do at work, what were the changes you made? How did you adapt?
Leo's Work-Life Challenges and Solutions
00:05:17
Speaker
Why? Pandemic you mentioned? What was the journey like?
00:05:20
Speaker
I found that when I was home in a lockdown and I didn't have the luxuries of the office parties and ping pong table and beer on tap and all that, I was like after five, you know, after things are done in the pandemic.
00:05:36
Speaker
in the lockdown, like, what am I doing with the rest of my day, right? I took up like, boxing, funny enough, doing like a, like an online set up and I kind of took that up with my mom and my sister and I got them to do these classes together.
00:05:51
Speaker
Really leaned into the podcast. I think during the pandemic we were hard to get a lot of traction because the guests that we had coming on um Leaning into cooking as well like just different things that didn't relate to design at all or didn't relate to advertising So online boxing though, you'd like mount a macbook on a punching bag and get the get the frustration out How does that it was like uh?
00:06:16
Speaker
I had like a standing desk so I would put the MacBook there and then there were like live classes. I would be doing the hit classes and punching the air. It's not the same. I love it. Doing what you can.
00:06:32
Speaker
stay fit and also find something that is different should want to do any day to day of course on the cooking side okay so there was like the baking craze like homemade pasta craze we were all cooking yeah all of it the pandemic so many new skills so many hobbies right what was the hip for you what was the thing you still cook today i think you learned that uh chicken stir-fry i mean that's easy right but like that holds me down i still do that to this day yeah but i like that
00:06:58
Speaker
What was the, so you mentioned like taking the, did you have a bubble? Did you have a community? Did you have folks you were hanging with or were you solo during that time? So I lived with my mom and sister at the time. Oh perfect. So that was our bubble for that part. So like, yeah, I got my mom like in the best shape of her life. Doing those, doing those boxy classes.
00:07:18
Speaker
And to this day, she still does boxing like with her group. I love that. I feel like I was like at the best shape and the worst shape during the pandemic. I feel like the first six months I was like, well, I'm going to work out a ton. And then like the next six months I was like, well, I'm going to drink a ton. And somehow those two things, I look back at those photos. I'm like, how did that?
00:07:37
Speaker
This is a real journey that I went on. Do you find that you ever kind of struggled with, if you look throughout the course of your career, work-life balance, when was that kind of at its worst? I mean, like you, you know, I have an agency background. We actually worked at the same agency for a minute. Not at the same time, but TWG respects. And not an advertising agency, but definitely Hustle Culture, Product Agency, Building Software.
00:08:05
Speaker
And I think like that that was the peak of my sort of like always on work identity. I was mentioning to you earlier I would catch myself like meeting friends who were in adjacent or similar industries or working in digital and being like, have you ever thought about running a design sprint?
00:08:20
Speaker
How are you analyzing your funnel, you know, like, just like always consulting, you know, which is so obnoxious. And looking back, yes, cringy and, and there needed to be some separation. But at the time, you know, like, I guess the advice I always give folks who are younger in their careers, like there, there is a time where you have the capacity to, to work more to put in the hours and like,
00:08:40
Speaker
the old adage of, you know, 10,000 hours on something like it counts. And so that's sort of when I was putting my hours in and I still do now. Trust me. Oh, I'm still working. I'm still working. Don't worry. Um, but I have this hard stop. Um, you know, I mentioned earlier the family life. And so, you know, I leave here, you know, four, four 35 kind of thing. And then by choice, I guess I could work if there was something urgent and sometimes there is, but I go home, I do dinner, I do the kids and, and, and we hang out as a family and,
00:09:08
Speaker
You know if I have to work again, it's it can't be until like 9 30 or 10 Yeah, and so I'm kind of famous around here as a night owl who like lights it up at 10 and And and it's back online to like follow through that project We were talking about during the day and I do love those hours and I do feel like they're a chosen ritual for me It's not like someone's you know done to my head being like you gotta finish this tonight Yeah, that's usually the sort of heads down time that special space that as a creative I've always sort of enjoyed, you know those wee hours on my own and and so
00:09:39
Speaker
that's sort of where like as as I'm getting older those hours are harder to sustain because it's like you know I'm working on something fun I'm getting into it all of a sudden it's midnight it's one in the morning it's two in the morning waking up at six with the kids like does not feel so great after that anymore so that's where I'm sort of looking to make an adjustment like how do I either pull more of that into the day how do I
00:10:01
Speaker
get up earlier, do that in the morning. I've never been a morning person, but I think I might try that out this year a little bit. And so there's some adjustments there required this year for sure, just based on the sort of like balance of energy I need for work and for the kids. Which is always going to be a
Weekend Plans and Leisure Approaches
00:10:18
Speaker
thing. Right. Yeah. The schedule you have now are like my daily routine looks very different from yours. Of course. But mine in five years may look very different than mine now.
00:10:26
Speaker
Like the work-life balance is constantly changing based on your circumstance. Yeah, and where you work as well. Truth, truth. Yeah, totally. Yeah, and I think like I sort of, I feel like the pandemic did sort of push a bit of a reset on that. In some ways, like, I don't know, I'm talking about both sides of my mouth here, but
00:10:44
Speaker
You know, I was home with two little kids six what three months and two years or something as the pandemic started and so There was really not like there was no sense of balance. It was always on whenever I could I would take a call from the shower like, you know sneak into a closet or something to figure out how to get the work done and but it did sort of reinforce the fact that
00:11:04
Speaker
Like when work and life are mashed together you need boundaries and so you I needed to say okay Like I'm not opening slack or my laptop for these several hours and that that's a habit that's persisted and been really healthy for me I'm not really like a big phone guy I don't get lost in my phone for hours at a time So it's easier for me when I get home to just put it down and not think about it for three four hours And yeah
00:11:25
Speaker
And sometimes I miss something important, but mostly not and it's all good. Um, but I feel like that, that ability to like create that boundary and not feel like you have to be on call is, um, a healthy maturation that I've witnessed here. Um, and LD and I feel, you know, depending on the time of year and the function you're in, like there's always moments where, where there's emergencies that we need to be available for. But I feel like we've done a good job preserving that sort of that, that respect and that boundary with our teams.
00:11:52
Speaker
yeah yeah so tell me on a given night it's a friday right now friday afternoon we're having a nice chat life is good what's on the agenda tonight make me jealous like what are you up to today is actually a busy one all right all right it's a good thing but
00:12:09
Speaker
weather dependent because apparently there's going to be a snowstorm. Yeah. When people are hearing this, obviously it won't be. But I have a boxing class after after work. And then I'm actually going to a an Afrobeat dance hall type of party event tonight. Wow. Jim home. Wow. And where's that at?
00:12:31
Speaker
Uh, it's near college and Bathurst. Yeah, sure, sure. Yeah, I just like kind of going to those events because there's a lot of positive community. You know, I'm Jamaican backgrounds, obviously like to listen to that kind of music. Everyone's just in a really good mood. Everyone's dressed really well. Yeah. That's a nice time. Yeah. You going out with, with some folks, you going out solo with the friends or going out with the friends. Yeah. Having a good time. Just, uh,
00:13:00
Speaker
winter time. I'm usually like just home, do
Tips for Maintaining Work-Life Balance
00:13:03
Speaker
nothing. Yeah. Every now and then you got to get that.
00:13:09
Speaker
Believe your best life that late-night sunshine. Yes. I miss it. What about you? What's what's Friday night? I mean in a past life it was it was like that But you know, you know tonight is like movie night with the kids so like pizza pick a good movie on Netflix or something Yeah veg out just just hang low-key It's like the one night where we try not to have like any sort of agenda pressure No activities like just like let's do what we feel and so it ends up being pretty lazy and chill and
00:13:34
Speaker
And then usually like a movie with my wife, maybe some late night food, who knows. Shout out Melissa, not admitting any sort of terrible habits there, I promise. Melissa gets a shout out in every episode, is that right? Is that the part where you get that? Alright, and then tomorrow is like...
00:13:51
Speaker
gymnastics in the morning with the kids they just started it's the cutest fucking thing and then after that given there will likely be snow then then it's hitting the slopes for for a toboggan in the afternoon and like those two activities will will drain all of us kind of thing so that evening will be sort of a rinse and repeat on chilling
00:14:11
Speaker
Of course, reliving life through my kids' eyes and activities is my work-life balance right now. It's like being able to just be silly and have fun and be a wacky guy and do silly fun kids' stuff is the jam. And you're doing the backflips in gymnastics as well. 100%. I think we need a visual. I think we need a video follow up on that.
00:14:34
Speaker
I wish I could. I wish I was that limber. Yeah. All right. So so, you know, I got a sense. I got a sense. I got a taste of your of your nightlife tonight. What would you tell like folks who might be struggling with this? Like what advice would you give for folks as they start the year and are seeking to a better word about it?
00:14:52
Speaker
Yeah, I think, you know, number one, it depends on the environment you're in. Well, I mean, this is all for people to work at. So different there, but find find things that you like to do that, you know, I mean.
00:15:07
Speaker
whether that is something that is like physically active or it's community based, you know, go on a kind of different events. And I wanted to say networking events, which is things that you're into. If you're into anime, there are anime events, you know, if you're into cooking or design, whatever it is, there's something for everyone, especially in Toronto. There's always something for everyone. I think you just need to find something that, you know,
00:15:32
Speaker
pulls you outside, something that you can look forward to. And I think the benefit of having something that's also like scheduled here and there, like if I go to a boxing class at 6 p.m., I gotta be out of the office at a certain time and I gotta go to that class, you know what I mean? So having those things that you can kinda schedule and look forward to throughout the week, I think is a great way to start building that life outside
Episode Wrap-Up
00:15:56
Speaker
of work. And that's great, you know? Yeah, nice one, good tips.
00:16:00
Speaker
All right. That was, uh, that was helpful. This was really fun. I feel the, the experience, you know, in your voice and the way you manage this conversation, I get it. You got the pod. You're also doing a phenomenal job.
00:16:16
Speaker
All I do is listen to podcasts, you know, so I've been training. Thank you, Doc. Yeah, of course back. Thanks for coming through. There we go. That was another episode of the community, my friends. We hope you're having a great day on your way to or from wherever you're headed. And we'll catch you again next time.