At lunch at the Sizzler (a few decades ago), my dad pointed to a guy talking on one of those old, giant cell phones, and warned me never to take employment that would require me to be connected to the office during lunch. Times have changed — and you’d need to pause and enter what I call a Cell Phone Time Machine to recall just how much they’ve change. Tech has made us always-on and always connected, and the lines between our work and personal lives have disappeared. Working many hours (especially in the tech industry) is considered a badge of honor. As Dan Lyons explains in the NYT: “A century ago, factory workers were forming unions and going on strike to demand better conditions and a limit on hours. Today, Silicon Valley employees celebrate their own exploitation.” In Silicon Valley, Working 9 to 5 Is for Losers.

+ “Maybe the good life is not about trying to achieve some sort of illusory balance. Instead, maybe it’s about pursuing your interests fully, but with enough internal self-awareness to regularly evaluate what you’re not pursuing as a result.” In the NYT, Brad Stulberg suggests that maybe we all need a little less balance. (I’m not sure I could have any less balance. My favorite hobby is opening news tabs…)