Ask HN: How do you balance personal stressors and a full-time career?
I was recently in this dilemma where my grandfather had a stroke & I wanted to be by his side throughout his hospitalization.
While my coworkers & boss were extremely supportive of me taking a few days off, I couldn't shake the urge to still "check-in" and work whenever I wasn't by my grandfather's side.
I felt the more I was disconnected from work, the harder it was going to be for me when I came back, so I tried to "keep myself afloat" by replying to IMs, emails, and do whatever work I could asynchronously.
Everyone I know (including folks I work with) always say we should strive for a work/life balance, but I feel like that completely compartmentalizing the two is impossible. Especially if I want to continue to progress my career & not do sub-par work.
Maybe I'm just overthinking it, but would love your thoughts on how best to handle this. Accept that, like the vast majority of people, your job is meaningless. When you really think about it, what does your job bring to the world? Probably not much. Probably nothing more important than spending time with your family when they need you.