Welcome to the latest article in our “Away From the Keyboard” series, which features interviews with people at MongoDB, discussing what they do, how they prioritize time away from their work, and their advice for others looking to create a more holistic approach to coding.
Rafa Liou, Senior Partner Marketing Manager at MongoDB, was gracious enough to tell us why he's not ashamed to advocate strongly for a healthy work-life balance and how his past career in the wild world of advertising helped him first recognize the need to do so
Q: What do you do at MongoDB?
RAFA: I’m a Marketing Manager focused on MongoDB’s AI partner ecosystem. I help promote our partnerships with companies such as Anthropic, Cohere, LangChain, Together AI, and many others. I work to drive mutual awareness, credibility, and product adoption in the gen AI space via marketing programs. Basically telling the world why we’re better together. It’s a cool job where I’m able to wear many hats and interact with lots of different teams internally and externally.
Q: What does work-life balance look like for you?
RAFA: Work-life balance is really important to me. It’s actually one of the things I value the most in a job. I know some people advise against this but anytime I’m interviewing with a company I ask about it because it definitely impacts my mental health, how I spend my time outside of work, and my ability to do the things I love. I’m very fortunate to work for a company that understands that, and trusts me to do my job and, at the same time, be able to step out for a walk, a workout, not miss a dinner reservation with my husband, or whatever it is. It makes a lot of difference in both my productivity and happiness.
After I log off, you can find me taking a HIIT class, exploring the restaurant scene in LA, or biking at the beach. It’s so good to be able to do all of that stress-free!
Q: How do you ensure you set boundaries between work and personal life?
RAFA: I usually joke that if you do everything you’re tasked with at the pace you’d like things to get done, you will never stop working. It is really important to prioritize them based on value, urgency, and feasibility. By assessing your pipeline more critically, you will be able to distill what needs to be done right now and also be at peace with the things that will be handled down the road, making it easier to disconnect when you’re done for the day. It’s also important to set expectations and boundaries with your manager and teams so you can fully enjoy life after work without worrying about that Slack message when you’re at the movies.
Q: Has work/life balance always been a priority for you, or did you develop it later in your career?
RAFA: Before tech, I worked in advertising, which is a very fast-paced industry with the craziest deadlines. For some time in my career, working relentlessly was not only required, but it was also rewarded by agency culture. When you’re young, nights in the office brainstorming over pizza with friends may sound fun. But it starts to wear you out pretty quickly, especially when you don’t have the time, energy, or even the mental state to enjoy your personal life after long hours. As I matured and climbed a few steps in my career, I felt the urge and empowerment to set some boundaries to protect myself. Now, it’s a non-negotiable factor for me.
Q: What benefits has this balance given you in your career?
RAFA: By constantly exercising prioritization, I’ve become a more efficient professional. When you focus on what really matters, you are also able to execute at higher quality, without distractions or the feeling of getting overwhelmed. Of course, with prioritization comes a lot of trade-offs and discussions with stakeholders on what should be prioritized today versus tomorrow. So, I think I’ve also gotten better at negotiation and conflict resolution (things I’ve always struggled with). Last but not least: having consistent downtime to unwind makes me more creative and energized to come up with new ideas and take on new projects.
Q: What advice would you give to someone seeking to find a better balance?
RAFA: First and foremost: don’t be ashamed of wanting a better work-life balance. I often find people living and breathing work just because they don’t want to be seen as lazy or uncommitted. Once you understand that a better work-life balance will actually make you a better professional—more intentional, efficient, and even strategic (as you will spend energy to solve what creates more value in a timely manner)—it will be easier to have this mindset, communicate it to others, and live by it.
Something more practical would be to start a list of all the things you have to do, acknowledge you can’t finish them all by the end of the day (or week, or month), and ask yourself: Do they all carry the same importance? How can I prioritize them? What would happen if I work on X now instead of Y? I would experiment with this approach and check how you feel and how it impacts your day-to-day life. You might be surprised by the result. Making time for personal life events, hobbies, and meet-ups with family and friends will also help you have something to look forward to after closing your laptop.
This is all easier said than done but I guarantee that once this becomes part of your core values and you find the balance that works for you, it is totally worth it!
Thank you to Rafa Liou for sharing his insights! And thanks to all of you for reading.
For past articles in this series, check out our interviews with:
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