Crypto is all consuming. Take your eye off it for one second and you’ve missed another opportunity. This can put a lot of strain on your life outside of crypto. You feel like you need to be online all the time. With mobile devices you can fool yourself into thinking you are online and present in the real world at the same time. This is wrong. We, as humans are not capable of multi tasking to a high degree of efficiency. Or at least this is something I struggle with.
The pandemic led to a lot of changes around the world, in my case it allowed me to focus a lot more on crypto. I was not the only one. Being locked down led to a huge uptick in online activity, especially in the global markets. People around the world were at home, with nothing to do, and with money to spend thanks to the governments’ printers. A lot of this money went into stocks, particularly tech stocks, meme stocks (wall street bets) and of course crypto. The recession was avoided and we were on our way to the moon.
This period was a very profitable time for me but it came with a disruptive change to my lifestyle. I wasn’t able to travel as much as I usually did, I couldn’t play sport like I was used to and it led to a lot more time spent alone. The time wasn’t spent efficiently and lacked the balance that I once had.
Goals
Unbothered. Moisturized. Happy. In My Lane. Focused. Flourishing.
But how do we get into this perfect state?
It’s hard, make no bones about it and if you’re working for yourself, it’s even harder. If you spend all day researching projects, keeping up to date with your current investments, discord, twitter, telegram. It’s easy to get lost and get into a state of decision paralysis. There is now infinite information available and you cant process it. You’re in the same position you started the day with.
Breaking the cycle
I never thought I would quote Shakespeare but I saw this a long time ago and it’s stuck with me ever since. It’s from Richard II:
“I wasted time, and now doth time waste me”
It’s pretty simple, we get put on this planet with 2 things really. Health (if lucky) and time; so spend it wisely.
What I’m trying to say is that to find balance you should focus on how you spend your time. The higher the quality of time you spend, the better outcomes you will have.
For me, this consists of several things, and they all help me in different ways:
Exercise - Lift heavy things, sprint, play a sport. I play rugby, less serious now but I still play. This is really important to me as it allows me to focus on something very different from crypto a few days a week. The people, the type of training, the socialising. It’s an incredible sport where I’ve made incredible friends.
Get outside - Get into nature, get into the trees, climb a mountain, swim in the ocean (especially if it’s cold). Whatever you need to do, it’s super important. I like to think of this as a form of meditation, nothing clears the mind better than these activities. Being in front of a screen all day every day is not good for your mental or physical health so you have to try to balance it out somewhat.
Write - Understanding certain topics are much easier when you write about them. I intend to get more consistent on this and start publishing some articles on investment thesis’. This has always been the goal of this blog.
Travel - See the world. I’ve lived in many different countries now and it’s pushed my comfort zone a lot wider than it used to be. There is nothing better than getting away from the screen and exploring a new country.
Crypto fills your pocket but adventures fill your soul.
(For Adventurers)
Read - I’ve learned a lot this year from some quality books but it’s not all about reading to learn. It’s great to read for fun as well. The epic Dune series for example, for those sci-fi nerds out there like myself.
Find your clan - Working together will lead to massive improvements in profits and performance. Sharing alpha is +ev and will make your life much easier. Plus it’s awesome talking to people that understand this asset class in the way you do.
Plan the day - Something I’ve been trying to get better at and it isn't easy as there really are a million different opportunities distracting you in crypto. But it’s worth mapping out the “must do’s”. Research a project, manage some farms on a certain chain, exercise, read, etc.
Separate the workday - This has been incredibly hard since covid. I used to work from cafes and co-working spaces but got too comfortable working from home in the last year. And working from home leads to working 24/7. I’ve just started working from a co-working space again and I’m determined to get better at leaving work in the office.
The End Game
Ultimately this is where I want to be. I’m going to continue improving on this journey by following those steps. It’s hard to believe it, but we are incredibly early, there will be plenty more opportunities so it’s important not to burn out. Time in the market beats timing the market.
WAGMI.