How do you balance work and life?

Wednesday, 01. 6. 2010  –  Category: All Blog Posts, Meaning of Work, Work Life Balance

I wrote a guest blog this week for Business Women’s Finishing School & Social Club, a work oriented blog that addresses “Everything you didn’t learn in school that will help you survive the work of work”.  My blog post describes my experiences in  balancing motherhood and work.

A lot has changed since I began my career in the 1970’s. Working women and mothers are the norm, not a novelty.  Equal rights are guaranteed under the law not only for women, but for other classes of employees who were formerly discriminated against based on race, age, physical abilities, affectional orientation, etc.

Although the laws have changed, the difficulty of giving work and priorities outside of work adequate attention remains challenging.  What’s your story about balancing work and life?


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2 Responses to “How do you balance work and life?”

  1. Steve Hunt Says:
    January 7th, 2010 at 1:31 am

    Interesting post Joyce. I read it while responding to e-mails after midnight in a hotel room 2500 miles away from my wife and kids. So I’m definitely aware of the whole work-life balance challenge!

    I have found that I “force” worklife balance by making priorities to my children the same way I do toward work. People at work are always scheduling my time in meetings, but my children don’t think that way – thankfully! So instead i make a point to schedule meetigs with them, whether they want to meet with me or not! I also make commitments to things like coaching or school volunteering that go beyond just my child. This creates a concrete reason to say “no” to doing yet another business trip away from home – there are real implications if I don’t show up, and not just for my family but for other people as well who are counting on me to keep my commitment.

    I’ve certainly not figured out the perfect worklife balance, and don’t think I ever will. Its more a matter of constantly shifting priorities to maintain some sense of balance. Its like skiing, if you stop moving and sit back cause you think you got if figured out then you will soon totally lose your balance and crash. .

  2. David Creelman Says:
    January 7th, 2010 at 11:13 am

    In some ways balance is easy for me becuase I work for myself, but like Steve I think we must take charge of our priorities and not be afraid to stick with them.

    I still find it amazing when someone says “…and I need it for next Tuesday” and and I say “…that’s going to be hard, can we say Friday?”

    What happens? Usually they say “Sure.”

    No anger, no tough negotiations, it’s simply ok.

    That’s it, push back just a little and you can keep your life sane.

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