Let’s get real. Work-life balance is a myth.

What if there’s a different way? A way to be highly productive and deeply human? To unbusy your life by keeping pace and making space?

It’s easy to put the important things on hold. When work settles down, then we’ll spend more time with our kids. When the inbox is under control, then we’ll look after ourselves.

But there’s always another email, another project, another responsibility. And the life we want to invest in is happening now.

In this episode of The Spacemakers, Daniel Sih and Matt Bain explore the paradox of pace and space: how to work effectively and make room for rest, relationships and reflection in an already overflowing life.

Through relatable stories and a simple upside-down curve, they explore why efficiency alone can’t solve busyness — and how keeping pace and making space can strengthen each other.

They also consider the limits of trying to do it all. What changes when we stop chasing the best version of everything and start making small, intentional adjustments within the life we actually have?

If you’re waiting for a quieter season to invest in what matters, this conversation offers a way to begin today.

Discover more:

SPACEMAKERS WEBSITE

YOUTUBE

This season is made possible with support from our sponsors Bulk Nutrients and Productivity Masterclass.

This podcast is recorded and produced by Wildersound and Talon Media.

Mentioned in this episode:

Bulk Nutrients

Thanks to our episode sponsor, BULK NUTRIENTS. New customers get 5% off their first purchase at: https://www.bulknutrients.com.au/spacemakers

Bulk Nutrients

Feeling pulled in opposite directions? You might not need to choose a side.

Sometimes, our best ideas emerge when we hold two opposing ideas together long enough to discover something new.

That’s the miracle of both-and thinking: learning to stay with the tension and see possibilities we might otherwise miss.

In this episode of The Spacemakers, Daniel Sih and Matt Bain explore how to put this way of thinking into practice.

Drawing on Roger Martin’s idea of the “opposable mind”, they consider how this way of thinking can help us navigate the complexity of work and life. Career and wellbeing. Planning and spontaneity. Caring for ourselves and caring for others.

Through three memorable metaphors — a barbell, a metronome and a tightrope — they explore how to hold these tensions and adjust as life changes. Living well requires movement, attention and a willingness to reconsider our choices.

They also unpack three habits that narrow our thinking: settling for an unhelpful compromise, digging into our own position and treating people who disagree with us as the enemy.

Your reflection for the fortnight: when tension feels uncomfortable, which habit do you drift towards? And what might become possible if you stayed open to another perspective?

Discover more:

SPACEMAKERS WEBSITE

YOUTUBE

This season is made possible with support from our sponsors Bulk Nutrients and Productivity Masterclass.

This podcast is recorded and produced by Wildersound and Talon Media.

Mentioned in this episode:

Spacemakers Productivity Masterclass 2027

This episode is brought to you by Productivity Masterclass — a life-changing program to help senior professionals work smarter, get organised, and take their productivity to the next level. Check out our next program at https://spacemakers.au/masterclass.

Spacemakers - Productivity Masterclass

Work or life? Keeping pace or making space?

What if choosing one is part of the problem?

Modern life feels increasingly complex. We want to build meaningful careers and care for our families. Stay relevant and protect our wellbeing. Plan for the future and respond to what needs us today.

These tensions rarely disappear. But learning to hold them differently can open up new possibilities.

Welcome to Season 5 of The Spacemakers, a pod-course exploring the power of both-and thinking.

In this opening episode, Daniel Sih and Matt Bain unpack the productivity paradox: how to keep pace with a changing world while making space for a deeply human life.

Drawing on Both-And Thinking by Wendy Smith and Marianne Lewis, they explore why work and life can feel contradictory while also depending on each other. Investing in your life gives you the energy to work well. Working effectively helps create the time and resources to care for what matters.

Daniel shares his uncertainty about running a business in an AI world. Matt reflects on the tension between his dislike of routines and his desire to make a meaningful contribution. Together, they consider what becomes possible when we resist the urge to resolve every tension by choosing a side.

Discover more:

SPACEMAKERS WEBSITE

YOUTUBE

This season is made possible with support from our sponsors Bulk Nutrients and Productivity Masterclass.

This podcast is recorded and produced by Wildersound and Talon Media.

Mentioned in this episode:

Spacemakers Productivity Masterclass 2027

This episode is brought to you by Productivity Masterclass — a life-changing program to help senior professionals work smarter, get organised, and take their productivity to the next level. Check out our next program at https://spacemakers.au/masterclass.