work hard or rest hard. nothing in between.

I like to think of work vs. rest as a 10-point scale.

1 = extreme rest

10 = extreme work

What’s the “unconscious middle”? We’ll get there…

But first…

When it comes to work vs. rest, “balance” is a word we hear a lot.

“Balance is everything,” they say…

And it’s true, balance is absolutely crucial.

But most people don’t truly understand the word “balance.”

Balance is most commonly understood as the middle.

But in work vs. rest: it’s the opposite.

If you want to actually get anywhere in life, you need bounce between working really hard and resting really hard. Either end of the scale.

The more time you spend in the middle, the further you will find yourself from achieving your goals.

Most people fall into the middle and never get out. They never hit either end of the spectrum. Never working that hard. Never resting fully.

They spend their whole lives in a comfortable state, and merely go through the motions of life. The dreams they once had wallow away with them in the middle.

It can feel like bliss, but deep down you know that you are meant for more.

And when you’re stuck in the middle, it can actually feel like you’re making real progress, however, as much as you turn your wheels, you can’t actually get out of the mud, and you get nowhere real quick.

The truth is, it’s easy to get stuck in there.

The “unconscious middle”

Why “unconscious”?

Because when you’re in this middle area, neither working really hard towards your goals but also not really resting to recover from the periods of work, you get into a state where you’re sort of just floating through life, living at a fraction of what you’re truly capable of.

Just coasting along…

You’re not fully committed to your goals, but you still hope that they’ll some day magically happen. That you’ll finally get the motivation to do them.

The good news is, if you want it bad enough, the day will come when you say “enough is enough.” But even when that day does come, it can be difficult to hone in on achieving your goals.

Even if you’re aware you’re in the middle, and even if you have a clear vision for what you want your life to look like, it can be hard to escape.

So many people fall victim to the middle. It feels like you’re in the “Get Out” tea cup.

My advice to get out of the middle is: work really hard, and rest really hard.

Fully commit (🤝) to each.

Most people try to both work and rest at the same time, yet do neither fully.

When this happens, it forces work and rest to be at odds with each other.

Each detracting from the other. A push and pull.

Kind of like a game of tug of war.

You’re not fully committed to working nor resting. You’re stuck between the two.

And when this happens, it leads to all sorts of issues: mental health problems, burn out, anxiousness, loss of motivation, second-guessing yourself…

Imagine trying to work and rest at the same time. We’ve all been there before.

Examples can vary. But some scenarios of this look like:

• sending emails while you’re on the couch watching TV

• taking calls for work while you’re on vacation

• distracting yourself with video games while ruminating on the work you know you should be doing

• being on your phone when you’re having a meal with someone

Most people fluctuate between 4-7 on the work vs. rest scale.

They never fully reach either a 1 or a 10.

People stuck in the middle fall into two categories:

1. Some people find themselves in the unconscious middle and choose to wake up.

2. Some never will.

If you’re like me, and you’re reading this right now, chances are you’ve woken up. You’ve found yourself in the middle, and you’re aware that you are there.

You’re tired of spinning your wheels going nowhere. You feel like you work hard and rest hard yet your goals still seem so far away…almost unattainable.

If this is you, ask yourself, “am I actually working as hard as I can?”

And then, “am I actually resting as fully as I can?”

• When you’re “working hard” are you checking your phone every 5-10 minutes?

• When you’re “resting hard” are you thinking about work or the project you’re working on? Or what you have to do later today, or that meeting you have tomorrow?

Most people could probably press the needle a little bit further towards full work or full rest, or both. Whichever end of the spectrum you’re in, the more committed (🤝) you are to it, the more progress you will make towards your goals.

If you’re gonna rest, rest. If you’re gonna work, work.

Don’t overcomplicate it by mixing them together.

Extreme work and extreme rest

Each person’s work and rest activities look a bit a different.

They’ll depend on your priorities.

Here are some examples or each…

Extreme Work:

• waking up early/staying up late

• fully committed to a project or your job

• going to the gym every day

• eating on a diet

Extreme Rest:

• going on a vacation

• reading by the pool/beach

• getting out into nature

• going out and partying

• sleeping in

• loafing on the couch

Think about what your 1 and 10 are. Write it down.

Regardless of what each end looks like for you, the more time you spend at both a 1 and a 10, the more progress you will make towards achieving your goals.

The middle is where dreams go to die.

If extreme results are what you want you want, you will never get them by living in the middle.

Work really hard. Rest really hard.

That is the key.

That is what balance truly is.

macro work vs. rest

I've found that when I have some time on the calendar when I know I'm going to rest really hard, I get so much more work done in the period of work prior.

My rest weekends consist of: going to visit friends, going out to the bars, or just dedicated time to chill at the pool/beach.

Scheduling these every month is something I historically haven’t done a good job at, but I’m trying to actively do more of because I’ve seen it’s benefits play out. Imagine you had a fun trip at the end of every month, it would make that month’s work so much more enticing.

For me personally, I’ve been in the middle, and it sucks. It feels good for a bit, but if you have that fire in you, you crave the 10 and love going from 10 to 1.

It feels like you earned the 1. And when results finally show up, 10 becomes addicting.

So now that I’m aware…

I try to either be at a 1 or a 10.

Nothing in between.

Fully committed (🤝) to either working or resting.

If you struggle with “burning out” every few weeks/months, you need to schedule in a periods of rest.

And I mean true, full rest. A 1 on the scale.

A time when you can check out completely from your job or whatever you’re working on.

Whether that's just chilling out and loafing for a day or two, or going to visit friends and going on a mini bender, it’s absolutely essential.

It has helped me so much in making the extreme work phase much more enjoyable and productive. I get stuff done so much faster and more efficiently.

Why?

Because I know there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

That light will guide you through the tough times in your work, which will inevitably happen.

Whenever I’ve fallen into the monotony of the unconscious middle, I’ve felt low energy, depressed, and anxious. And it makes sense as to why. Because I wasn’t fully doing either, knowing that it was preventing me from achieving my goals.

I’ve realized that I'm way more efficient and present when I'm fully locked in on either end.

At a macro-level, these phases of extreme work/extreme rest have proven to be my preferred schedule.

So that’s the macro…

Micro work vs. rest

Then there’s the day-to-day, micro-level work vs. rest as well.

At a micro level, it’s important to balance work/rest throughout each day.

write for a bit --> go for a walk --> edit a video --> workout

The same concept applies here: don’t get stuck in the middle.

Either work. Or rest.

Be intentional.

If you’re going to work on something, put your phone on DND and put it out of reach, either on the other side of the room or in another room entirely.

Remove the distractions.

Get done what you have to get done.

Then when you’ve hit the point of diminishing returns, and you feel like your quality has dropped off, rest.

Get away from your desk.

Get outside.

Move the body.

Recharge your mind.

— Ryan Ward (@iamryanward) May 11, 2024