#58: Boys trip and how hard should you work in your twenties?
My experience and you can decide if you want to follow it or not
Hey friends,
Welcome to the 58th edition of the “Level Up Ladder” newsletter.
1/ Some updates from my side
Last year, when me and my friends went somewhere remote for my bachelor's, we decided we should do this more often. And we agreed that once a year would be fine.
That's the reason why last weekend we went again to a remote place called Fundata.
And it was a great weekend.
One of my friends would disagree, as he scratched one side of his car while going on a very bad road. This road was not shown on Google Maps for a reason, but another friend thought it was a good idea to go on it.
Luckily, we found some pieces of wood that we could use as a lever to have the cars pass over some enormous rocks.
Anyway, that was Friday, but after that, we forgot about it.
We laughed, we talked, we watched movies, and we remembered things from our teenage years. We drank (maybe too much), and we solved issues from our past that were haunting us.
My friend Pete says that Romania is the most beautiful country in the world, and he's been to many. I would not say that, but I will say it's one of them.
Here are some photos from the trip and I can tell you, they don't do justice to the scenery.
Overall, it was a great getaway and I really appreciated it. Especially since the next month and a half will be one of the busiest ever.
I have a 24-hour strategy challenge this weekend + courses
next weekend, I'm going to Rimini for my first Hyrox event
then classes
from June 12th to July 1st, I'll be traveling for work, a wedding, and school (I'll tell you more about it then)
All while handing in individual and group projects for my MBA. Anyway, I chose this so enough complaining.
(I'm very excited about the 24-hour challenge and I can't wait to tell you more about it in next week's edition.)
2/ How hard should you work when you’re young?
I’m returning to this LinkedIn post I wrote about working hard in your twenties a while ago.
The post is talking about my personal experience.
When I was in my twenties, I worked my a** off. I would spend most of my time at work.
My schedule was something like this:
wake up at 8, go to work.
work until 8 or 9 pm
go home, drink some beers with friends or alone, watch something
go to bed around 2-3
This was how my day went between 21 and 30, probably.
I'm not saying it was a good decision, far from it. I actually regret those times, as I drank too much and even if I worked hard, I was not necessarily working smart. I was not focused and did not have a career strategy. But that's something I'll talk about in another newsletter.
But I did this because of two things:
I thought this was the only way to advance in my career.
To be honest, most of the people on my team were doing it. Our team was around 60-70 people and at least half of them were still there at 7 pm.
It was fun.
I had a dream a few days ago and I was in the open space where we were working in 2008/2009 and I was so happy to see some of my former colleagues.
We were more than a team, we were friends. We would talk about everything. We would stay out for beers after work. We would hang out in clubs and so on.
I was testing networking equipment, I was far from being fit, and I didn't have money.
But I was having a lot of fun.
There was a feeling of camaraderie that I didn't feel after I left that project and became a manager.
Some people say that leadership is a lonely role. And it's true.
No matter how much we hide from it, once you step into a managerial role, your perspective changes. More than that, the perspective of the people who you manage changes you.
Keep this in mind if you want to become a leader.
Now, returning to working long hours.
We need to be aware that every career is built like a pyramid.
You start at the bottom, along with many other people like you.
You climb the ladder, and you get to the next level, let's say you become a senior in something.
Then, you go to the next, you are a team leader now, and so on.
Of course, this is a simplified version, but it is what companies look like.
In essence, only a few people go to the next level, and so on.
And to get to the next level, you need to differentiate yourself. Because the opportunities to get there are limited.
Only one team leader emerges from a team of 10 developers, let’s say.
One Project Manager from 3-5 team leaders, and so on.
When I was first employed, the main route to the next level was through long hours.
I would not say work would use too much cognitive resources. I had to run tests and find bugs.
The more hours I spent at work, the more tests I ran.
The more tests I ran, I would find more bugs.
The more bugs I found, the better it was for my progress.
And that was it.
In time, you need to create more leverage and find a job where your decisions and impact are not time-restricted.
This happens naturally by getting into higher leadership positions. Or it can happen even before that if you're in a creative business, let's say.
Don't get me wrong, this doesn't mean you work less if you go up the corporate ladder. It just means your impact is not necessarily linked to working overtime.
In the end, everyone needs to assess their own condition.
But, most probably, if you are in a position where you get recognition by an amount of something:
number of sales calls
hours spent teaching
number of bugs found
etc
The main way (if not the only) to get to the next level is through more work.
Again, this is what I did and this is how many people from my generation did it. And maybe this is how most of the people from this generation will do it.
But not all of them.
Go your own way.
3/ Recommendations
RTO, Romanian version: A Marx and the Corporations story
A former IBM executive writes about the decision of IBM Romania to have everyone return to the office for 3 days a week.
A Little History of Economics (Little Histories)
This is a great introduction to Economics and it’s also a fun read for people who like history.
My Mentee Went From Junior -> Senior Engineer in less than 2 years. Here's how.
A story about how mentorship can help you grow your career in tech a lot faster than usual.
Thank you for reading, and let me know if you liked something in particular in this newsletter.
I hope you have a great weekend, friends!
Leo
P.S.: If you want to read my content daily, don’t forget to follow me on Linkedin.
P.S. 2: If you want to take your productivity to the next level, check out my extensive Productivity course that can accelerate your career.