I work more hours. I’m more likely to be working in the evening or on the weekend now. But what I do makes a difference that I can see. Progress feels 10x faster
Might feel more satisfaction but the work life balance is still missing and eventually will come back to make him write "Why I left Repl.it"
Eastern traditions have solved this a long time back. You have to break the cycle.
"Balance" can mean "all things equal" but when talking about work-life balance I think it means that your work and non-work time combine to produce optimal satisfaction. For some people, if they derive a large amount of satisfaction from their work, that may mean that a more demanding job provides better "balance" in their life.
I don't think he's referring to work-life balance in the standard way. His work-life balance issue wasn't because of too much work, it was because it was uninspiring somehow. He compensated heavily with 'life' as per his water bucket analogy. He played basketball and he hung out with friends, but when that was taken away, he clearly saw that he disliked his work and over relied on 'life'. So he eased the stress caused by work by finding something more inspiring. He may have found a better balance with work he actually likes.
As for the Eastern traditions I think you're implying, the solution is simple, but not easy. Clearly there aren't many Buddhas roaming around in continuous states of bliss, and it isn't for a lack of trying. Having said that, the insight he gained when he was stripped of his 'life' balancing activities is precisely the sort of realizations people can make on their path through some of these traditions.
I work more hours. I’m more likely to be working in the evening or on the weekend now. But what I do makes a difference that I can see. Progress feels 10x faster
Might feel more satisfaction but the work life balance is still missing and eventually will come back to make him write "Why I left Repl.it"
Eastern traditions have solved this a long time back. You have to break the cycle.