A connected fast-paced world means balancing health, fitness, and professional lives is an ongoing challenge. But history, it seems, offers us some unexpected lessons. Steli Efti, CEO of Close, a leading CRM platform, delves into the essence of our past to help us navigate this intricate balance.
Efti draws a compelling parallel between our ancestors’ relationship with food and our contemporary struggles with work. “If you think about a couple of 100 years back, if you had told somebody that there would be books that tell people how to eat food, it would have seemed ridiculous,” he points out. “What kind of food is good? Any food you can get is good food. There’s no education needed. It’s like no education needed in eating.”
This sentiment rings true when we think about our forebearers. Their daily lives revolved around the basic act of procuring and consuming whatever food was available. There was no concept of ‘healthy eating’ or ‘diet plans.’ It was a simple principle: if you have it, you eat it.
Similarly, the notion of working out as a deliberate activity would have been an alien concept to them. Efti observes, “I think it would have been a crazy notion at some point in society to tell people that we’re going to teach you how to stay fit, you just lift heavy things for no purpose to not get fat.”
However, as societies evolved, so did our challenges. With the abundance of food came the need to discern what was healthy. With sedentary lifestyles came the demand for deliberate physical activity. With the rise of remote work, the struggle now is to disconnect from it. Efti argues that the ubiquitous nature of modern work is becoming as challenging to manage as the surfeit of food choices we face today.
“I think that in the same way in the future, teaching people how to go offline and teaching people how to not work or think about work, I could see that becoming a massive industry and a massive challenge,” he predicts. This insight is particularly pertinent as we find ourselves in an age where technology has tethered us to our jobs 24/7. The danger? “Lots of people burned out. Lots of people not doing their best work.”
So, how can we learn from history and ensure we don’t fall into these pitfalls? The answer, according to Efti, lies within us. It’s about recognizing the importance of going offline, discovering our elements and choosing when to work. The focus shouldn’t just be on productivity, but also on ensuring that our mental and physical health isn’t compromised.
“We always teach us about more productivity anywhere you want, always on, you can just fix a problem through your phone, isn’t that awesome,” Efti remarks, emphasizing the double-edged nature of such an approach. The need of the hour is introspection, personal boundaries, and self-awareness.
As we forge ahead into the future, balancing the demands of our professional and personal lives will undoubtedly require a blend of discipline, reflection, and self-awareness. As Efti aptly summarizes, “Listening a little bit more to your inner voice, and the advice you would give yourself can be wonderful and magical.”
In embracing such thinking, we can not only succeed professionally but also lead richer, more fulfilling lives.