Be Uncomfortable: we only learn when we're a bit uncomfortable
Jonathan Bland talks about why a little stress is a good thing, how fatherhood destroyed his concept of work life balance, and why his company banned Friday meetings.
Jonathan Bland is one of those people who always has a side hustle. He told me he gets bored easily, so he is always looking for a challenge. At one point, he moved to Spain to learn a new language, decided to get his MBA, and started a company all at the same time. His whole thing is that we only learn when we are a bit uncomfortable. A little bit of stress is not just good, it is necessary if you are trying to grow.
When I asked him about success beyond the numbers, he said it is the little things, the qualitative moments. He loves getting a one off Slack message from a client saying how much they love working with his team. He also thinks work life balance is a myth. For him, it all just meshes together, especially since having two kids. Fatherhood blew up his old schedule of prepping for the day in the early mornings. Now he works late at night after the kids are in bed.
To deal with burnout at his company, Jonathan's team started No Meeting Fridays. It is a day with no internal or client meetings, just heads down time for people to recover from the week. He said you have to hold your ground when clients get angry about it, because most things can wait. He also gets past superficial answers about burnout by asking follow up questions, and sometimes by sharing something he is stressed about first to make it a safe space.
“You do have to be a little bit selfish. You have to take care of yourself first from a mental perspective and from a physical perspective before you can really help others.”
Notes
- While living in Spain, he got his MBA, learned Spanish, and started a company at the same time.
- He measures success in qualitative moments, like getting a Slack message from a client complimenting his team.
- Fatherhood forced him to shift his work schedule from the early mornings to late at night after his kids are asleep.
- His company has No Meeting Fridays, a day with no client or internal meetings, to give the team heads down time to recover from the week.