Play Where You Work

The advice “live where you work/play” doesn’t quite cut it for me. If I have to choose to live where I work, then I’m sacrificing play time. If I have to live where I play, then I’ll never get the sense that my work is satisfactory. It’s not worth yielding to this dilemma. I would rather play where I work.

Confucius once said, “choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.” What does it mean to love your work as a software engineer? How can we gain a sense of satisfaction without sacrificing the moments that make life fun? Unequivocally, this will differ for everyone. For me, I need to be toying with new ideas, concepts, and tools. I need to be enjoying and embracing the grind of client projects by augmenting my day with hilarious people. I need to evoke the “ah ha” moments that give me the sense of accomplishment as a perpetual student. All of which cannot be done under a rigid organizational structure; freedom gives me the opportunity to find how to play. This is why it’s salient to work for a company that values playtime, so you can play where you work.