Tech entrepreneur and investor Alexis Ohanian has so much to do.
Along with constructing a enterprise capital company Seven Seven Six with a give attention to software and empathy, the co-founder and former executive chairman of Reddit is raising his daughter Olympia with tennis legend Serena Williams – and recently teamed up with the icon of everlasting ink spicy.
Soon Ohanian’s life will get even busier as she is expecting her second child with Williams later this yr.
So how does she manage all of this and maintain a healthy work-life balance?
says Ohanian Entrepreneur would really like to rephrase the query.
“I do not think it’s about work-life balance,” she explains. “I do not think anyone can achieve that. It is not about balance. In case you’re chasing balance, you imply, like Thanos, [that] you’d have the ability to create something perfectly balanced. And the truth is working life [is] never 50/50. You will never achieve anything close – nor must you. “
But that doesn’t suggest that one area should at all times be prioritized over one other.
“There are occasions in your life while you’re going to must give attention to your profession, your work,” says Ohanian. “There are occasions in your life when you might want to give attention to living. It is a spectrum that continuously flows forwards and backwards.”
Ohanian compares these ebbs and flows to a relationship, noting that a partnership is rarely exactly 50/50. Sometimes you come home from work with only 20% to present while your partner has 80%, he explains, but keeping communication open amid constant change is essential.
Related: Work-life balance is easy. To succeed at work, get a life.
Rituals, routine – and the “surprise and delight” factor.
Ohanian says he was perpetually in “CEO mode” before his marriage and was “awful” at finding any semblance of work-life balance. He recalls that in his early twenties he pushed himself without excited about what he ate or how much he exercised.
That modified when he turned thirty and have become a father. “I used to be like I even have to vary every part to be with this baby so long as possiblerecalls Ohanian. “Truthfully, it was one in all the superpowers of being a dad.”
Today, Ohanian relies on the “discipline of routine” to remain grounded, even when it gets harder on the road. In the meanwhile, it looks like starting the morning with a chilly bath; he spends 10 minutes within the ice tank before training, takes a shower and drinks his first cup of coffee.
He also takes a while to put in writing down his each day goals in those early hours. It could actually be personal or skilled, says Ohanian.
When he’s home, Ohanian sits all the way down to dinner with his family at 6:00 p.m. every night — “without exception.” It also uses the ability of “surprise and delight”, a tactic that could be as effective in family time because it is in business.
“It’s far more memorable while you break the mold of another person’s expectations,” explains Ohanian. “The things we advise our founders to do, I also do for my daughter and my wife – that is the opposite side of the discipline routine. In case your default state has this sort of routine and expectation, you then also create the chance to do things that appear unusual and different.”
Related: 3 Ways to Surprise and Delight Your Ecommerce Customers
Take breaks and find activities to assist you to de-stress
Ohanian also relies on several helpful strategies in the case of coping with stress. He enjoys his walks through the workday, occasionally making a phone call or two while strolling around his South Florida property, “a good amount of space” complete with chickens and “a bit of farm motion.”
He also returned to drawing, a hobby he took up as a toddler. Through the years, Ohanian has used this skill to create several company logos, including Reddit. But today, this activity helps him “de-stress” (his favorite tool is the Sharpie S-Gel pen). And he was “excited” to see Olympia start drawing as well.
“Even before working with Sharpie, we had drawing classes where I used to be launching YouTube – it was during Covid – [and go to the channel] Art for youths,” says Ohanian. “It’s the entire family where they learn to attract – dad, kids, wife, and so they draw together. I’d do it with Olympia. Olympia is so hot [by this] drawing lessons and I bring [Serena] get entangled, or if we’ve grandparents at home, they’ll too.”
Related: 8 Ways to De-stress at Work in a Minute | Entrepreneur
Ohanian realizes what number of resources he has and the way difficult it may well be to attain a healthy state of flow for other entrepreneurs and professionals who juggle their responsibilities at work and at home. That is why he’s an enormous proponent of paid family leave; Ohanian wants all American families to have access to it.
With the correct support, some people may even discover that having a family opens up latest levels of profession ambition and success. Ohanian actually found that to be the case with him.
“There’s this little human you care about greater than anything on the planet,” says Ohanian. “You do not really care about anything on the planet except how this kid sees you. The following gear unlocks when you could have that dose of humility and that is great. As I said, satirically, I believe it made me so much higher. I believe this chapter of my profession as a dad will make the previous one appear like an amateur hour.”