You Can’t Afford Ice Baths, Padel and a Girlfriend If You Just Started
Can entrepreneurs really have work life balance? Work life balance is one of those phrases that sounds amazing on LinkedIn but falls apart the minute you actually try to build something of your own. If you are working a nine to five, yes, you absolutely can have work life balance. You clock in at nine, clock out at five, and the role you are playing during those eight hours is clearly defined. Once you are done, you get to switch roles. You can be a friend, a partner, a gym regular, a gamer, whatever you want, because your job usually does not require your emotional or mental presence beyond those working hours.
Entrepreneurship is different. You do not leave your job at five in the afternoon because the job is you. The ideas follow you home. The problems sit with you at dinner. The unfinished tasks linger in the back of your mind while you are trying to relax. There is a whole culture online that sells a very polished version of entrepreneurship. Wake up at four in the morning. Journal. Meditate. Do an ice bath. Listen to a podcast. Hit the gym. Read ten pages of a book. Do deep work. Play padel in the evening. Eat clean. Date a great girl. Somehow manage three companies at the same time.
Do I think that is real? I think most of it is nonsense. I am sure some people actually live like that. There are always outliers. There are people who thrive on four hours of sleep and cold plunges. But personally, I believe in one thing. Getting things done. My day starts at six in the morning. Not with an ice bath. Not with a motivational podcast. I wake up and write down everything that needs to get done that day. Every call. Every task. Every problem that cannot be pushed aside anymore. Because what actually separates entrepreneurs from everyone else is not the routine. It is execution. It is doing things now instead of saying later. Instead of saying passes karamu. Instead of saying I will get to it tomorrow.
If you have just started out, like me, you cannot afford the perfect lifestyle yet. You cannot afford to wake up at four, do ice baths, train twice a day, work ten hours, play padel in the evening, maintain an active social life and consistently date someone. Something has to give. That is where sacrifice comes in. In the beginning, time is your most valuable asset. Money is limited. Energy is limited. Focus is limited. You have to decide where those resources go. If you try to spread them evenly across everything, you will end up average at all of it. I would rather be exceptional at one thing right now. For me, that thing is work. And occasionally having a drink with my friends. That is my reset. That is how I clear my head. That is how I step outside the constant pressure and come back sharper the next day.
Entrepreneurship is not meant to be a selfish game where you isolate yourself from the world in the name of the grind. I actually think that mindset is dangerous and a bit brainwashed. Locking yourself in a room, cutting everyone off and calling it dedication is not strength. It is imbalance in a different form. My way is different. I grow with five friends. We share ideas. We challenge each other. We call each other out when someone is slacking or making excuses. We collaborate instead of compete. There is no jealousy. No silent comparison. Just five people trying to win together. That kind of environment makes the hard days easier. It keeps you grounded. It reminds you that you are not the only one figuring things out in real time. So, can entrepreneurs have work life balance? Maybe later. Maybe once the business is stable. Maybe once the systems are in place. Maybe once income is predictable and you are no longer fighting for survival every month. But at the start, balance is not the goal.
Progress is. Progress means doing the uncomfortable things. Progress means saying no to certain invitations. Progress means understanding that this phase is temporary but necessary. You are building the foundation for a life that might one day allow balance. Right now, you are earning the right to have it. So no, you probably cannot afford ice baths, padel every evening and a fully committed relationship if you are just starting out. Not unless you are willing to sacrifice speed.
And in the early stages, speed matters. This does not mean you ignore your health or abandon everyone you care about. It means you are honest about your season. Some seasons are about planting. Some are about harvesting. When you are planting, you spend more time in the dirt. Balance can come later. First, build.
