How to Balance Medium and Your Full-Time Job

Work-life balance is what keeps us sane

For nearly a year that feels like an eternity, I’ve been deployed overseas. It’s been a change in pace going from being a full-time student to a full-time soldier.

I knew I always wanted to serve in the Army. My inspiration is my mom, who’s a Master Sergeant and nearly has thirty years of service. Growing up, she showed me how to put in hard-work day in and day out. She rarely ever complained and just gets the job done.

Through seeing my mother creating aesthetic food recipes, custom face masks, and running a side-travel agency, she has shown me that you can create as well as work full-time.

It doesn’t have to be one or the other. There is no ultimatum. You can make it work, but it’s going to require some sacrifice!

Planning when the Weekly Schedule Comes Out

Ever since deploying, I take a good look at the work schedule to see how my week is going to play out. There are “Frago’s” (spontaneous events) that come up all the time, but planning still sets me up for success.

I set aside days that I can relax, play videogames, and just chill. On the other hand, I set aside days for maximum productivity. I’ll read over 20 articles on Medium, write two or three articles, and learn something new.

As long as you have a general idea of how the work-week looks, you can make adjustments and sacrifices to focus on what matters most to you.

You’re Getting Paid All the Time

As a military individual, I get paid bi-weekly, which has its advantages as well as its flaws. Waiting every two weeks for my money forces me to work with what I have from my previous paycheck. When I look into placing investments, I’m making money while I create content and have off days.

Don’t get me wrong, there are some weeks where we are out there grinding for seven days straight. Those are the weeks where I say “we absolutely earned this paycheck!”.

But when you get ahead of your tasks for the week, it pays off, sometimes. Finishing tasks early could mean an early day off, or it could mean you get assigned even more responsibilities. It’s a double-edged sword to complete tasks promptly.

Knowing that I’m technically always on “the clock” empowers me to spend it in a very productive way. If I’m getting paid for my time on the job and off the job, I’m going to maximize every minute to get the most out of this whole experience.

As a creator back at home, I would not be getting paid for every second that I scripted, recorded, and edited YouTube videos. Would that have been nice? Definitely. I am beyond blessed to be paid on my days off while I go to work and create meaningful content for my phenomenal audience.

Not Every Day has to Be Productive

As a person who’s always trying to grind, grow his money, build an audience, and be successful overall, I find it hard to stop working.

When I get off the clock, I go immediately to my computer, check the stats, see what I can write about for the day, and start pumping out content.

Since I began writing every single day, I’ve come close to burnout and quitting two times but have held steady. I advise anyone who’s a creator and working hard to grow something big to listen to your body and understand that it’s alright to take a break.

Burnout causes us to give up and stop achieving more. Take a few days, a week, or a month off if you have to. The critical takeaway is balance. You don’t have to be as hard on yourself as some of us are.

We’ll all make it to our destinations as long as we create a plan and adapt to life as it hits us with its surprises.