--- title: 'Do What You Love' Matters in Life Outside Work, Too description: I find that it’s helpful to see work-life as a continuum, each flowing into and influencing the other. canonical: https://time.com/4305161/work-life-continuum-2/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-04-22T19:22:50.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T08:05:49.503Z og:title: The Problem With 'Do What You Love' Advice og:description: The refrain misses a lot og:url: https://time.com/4305161/work-life-continuum-2/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8cdcffc2ed84d526/69887b4b5f570f2323b1f68b/parenting-child-wooden-houses-relationships-advice-betterment.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2500 og:image:height: 1406 og:image:alt: parenting-child-wooden-houses-relationships-advice-betterment-motto-stock og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The Problem With 'Do What You Love' Advice twitter:description: The refrain misses a lot twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8cdcffc2ed84d526/69887b4b5f570f2323b1f68b/parenting-child-wooden-houses-relationships-advice-betterment.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The Problem With 'Do What You Love' Advice > Sponsored content. 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Worth Your Time is TIME's culture newsletter, published Tuesdays and Saturdays to 40,000 subscribers as of August 2026. #### Who writes TIME's culture recommendations? Culture editor Eliza Berman writes Worth Your Time, drawing on TIME's critics and culture desk. #### Is Worth Your Time free? Yes. It is a free newsletter available at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: 10 Books Everyone Should Read, According to Successful People [Watch (HLS stream): 10 Books Everyone Should Read, According to Successful People](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/Bdu4TTCk.m3u8) (1:07)  _Published 2016-01-27_ by [Roger W. Ferguson, Jr. / LinkedIn](https://time.com/author/linkedin/) ## Roger W. Ferguson, Jr. / LinkedIn Contributor Apr 22, 2016 7:22 PM UTC  Peechaya Burroughs for TIME by [Roger W. Ferguson, Jr. / LinkedIn](https://time.com/author/linkedin/) ## Roger W. Ferguson, Jr. / LinkedIn Contributor Apr 22, 2016 7:22 PM UTC We’ve all heard the advice to “do what you love, and you’ll never work another day in your life.” I really like the sentiment, but I don’t fully agree with it. I love my job, but I also experience it as “work” – and therefore as only one part of my life. I treasure my time away from work as much as I do my time in the office, because it’s how I recharge, refocus, and reboot. To be sure, I spend some of my free time in more mundane pursuits — going to the dry cleaners, making Costco runs, paying the bills. I actually find these kinds of task-oriented chores quite relaxing after a week at work. But beyond those things I _have_ to do, I also make time for the things I _want_ to do. I make exercise a priority, putting in an hour or so most days on the elliptical or Nordic track or in the pool. I read a lot — newspapers, magazines, and non-fiction books. I put myself in many different “conversations” about the important issues of the day by being involved with a number of organizations across industries and sectors. None of my free-time pursuits are aimed specifically at making me better at my job. But it turns out they do that anyway. My exercise regimen gives me the energy and stamina to tackle whatever comes my way during the workweek. My reading habits keep me on top of what’s happening in my industry, the economy, the markets, and the world at large — helping to inform my decision-making at the office. My involvement with outside organizations enables me to connect with all sorts of fascinating people— demographers, educators, social scientists, healthcare leaders — who have invaluable insights about trends with important business implications. I find that it’s helpful to see work-life not so much as separate spheres that must be “balanced,” but as a continuum, each flowing into and influencing the other. I believe that if you spend your free time doing things that nourish you physically, intellectually, and emotionally, you will be better at work, even if those pursuits have nothing to do with your actual job responsibilities. I’m all for the “do what you love” advice — and I’m lucky enough to have a job that is rooted in my lifelong passions. But I recognize that’s not the case for everyone, nor do I think it’s a prerequisite for being happy or successful in the world. So maybe it’s time to shift the focus of the advice to “do what you love in your life outside work.” I’ve found that to be a sure-fire way to make me better at work — and in every other part of my life. _This_ [_article_](https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/why-do-what-you-love-matters-life-outside-work-too-ferguson-jr-?trk=prof-post) _originally appeared on_ [_LinkedIn_](http://www.linkedin.com) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4305161/work-life-continuum-2/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4305161/work-life-continuum-2/"},"headline":"The Problem With 'Do What You Love' Advice","datePublished":"2016-04-22T19:22:50.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T08:05:49.503Z","description":"The refrain misses a lot","url":"https://time.com/4305161/work-life-continuum-2/","keywords":["motto","Psychology","work life balance","Business"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8cdcffc2ed84d526/69887b4b5f570f2323b1f68b/parenting-child-wooden-houses-relationships-advice-betterment.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Roger W. 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