The other day someone commented that they were worried about me because all I seem to do is work. I don’t see it like that at all. I think I do understand the concept and have a definite control over what I do . I do work from a virtual office and maybe that does change the hours that I work compared to others. The stage of life that I am in allows me different options that others may not have at present.
That got me thinking………
How do we define Work Life balance today?
Does it matter what stage of life you are in?
Do different profiles see this in the same light?
What are the gender issues here especially around parenting ?
Do each of us need to define this for ourselves and continue to re assess it ?
What can we put in place in our lives to make sure that we know when we are heading for a wobble?
So many questions! Would love some answers. I know for me this is an ongoing challenge. I am determined to continue to address the issue to make sure I stay here, sane, happy and of use to myself and those around me.
Work/Life Balance – So what does that mean in this fast moving world we live in?
Hi Lynda. I also get that from a lot of people and maybe I do. Or like you, I do it at unusual times – like late at night when the kids are in bed and it’s quiet and there’s nothing good on TV, or late on a Sunday afternoon while the boys are in the bath and I have half an hour before I start dinner.
I think that if we had to measure our work-life balance on a daily level, then I’d have to be honest and say it’s completely out of whack. This is traditionally a really hectic time in my business, and because of that, the old agage of making hay while the sun shines applies. So for the next couple of months I will be burning the midnight oil (I’m starting to sound like one of those phrase books – will stop right now) and possibly catching up on the odd weekend. But then it slows down in January and then I catch up with friends I’ve neglected, attack my pile of books which has been growing at an alarming rate and go to back to gym to scare my cellulite into submission. And spend long weekends with the kids and attend all those dreadfully exciting school meetings.
So I think work-life balance needs to be measured holistically. Where we’re completely off the scale on one day, we manage to swing back a few days later.
And I have a wonderful wobble-measure that is a work-in-progress. When I find myself too busy to buy the groceries and I’ve run out of juice for the boys’ lunches and they’ve had to take water for the third day in a row, when I shout at them to hurry up and go to bed cos I’ve got deadlines to meet, when I’m always tired and ratty. Then I know it’s time to put the brakes on and slow down pronto. And then after a few days of enforced R and R, I’m raring to go again. And the odd shopping spree for a new pair of shoes or lipstick that I’ll probably never wear works wonders.
It takes a lot of juggling, open communication with my husband and children and realising that I can do it all, just not all of it all of the time.
And yes, the stage at which your life is does make a difference. It’s much easier on one level with my kids not being toddlers anymore, but now I’ve got school projects and exams to contend with. But at least (hallelujah!) I’m not doing the mid-night or all-night shifts anymore. And in a few years time as they get older, my life will be different again and so will the things which I need to balance.
I wouldn’t trade my life for anything. I have the freedom to make and live by my own decisions and it is extremely liberating and fulfilling. Even if I might be too exhausted sometimes to appreciate it.