Work/Life Balance
"I have a quote on my bedside table that says, ‘The work/life balance is not a daily occurrence.’ There are weeks when I am fully overwhelmed by work. During other weeks, when work is more manageable, I can be present for family dinners and spend weekends with my family in the mountains with no digital access. So I take more of a monthly view of overall life balance.
I also try to be fully present wherever I am. At work, I give myself fully to what is needed. At home, I leave my phone at the door. If I work from home, I log on after my kids are in bed.
It’s a team effort at home. My husband is very involved, and my kids do chores and help out around the house. This is very intentional. We are working toward teaching our kids to be increasingly independent.
I have let go of any guilt of not being the perfect mother or perfect anything — I am perfectly OK with that.”
“I find there is no daily or even weekly or monthly balance. I think the idea of balance gives a false hope that you can do a little of everything. Life comes with choices, and those choices must be looked at across time.
I see my work and my personal time outside of work as fully integrated parts of my life. I aim to be as fully present as I can wherever I am, which takes lots of self-reminders all day long. I find it is not possible to keep all work at work or all home at home, but I do work very hard to stay focused on the task at hand.”
“I travel every week to our offices all over the country, so time spent going from place to place eats into my personal time. Therefore, I try to take breaks by doing the things I enjoy in my personal life in different cities, which makes it more interesting. For example, I like to exercise indoors and outdoors in the places I travel to. I especially like to power-walk so I can explore each city’s unique qualities and culture on foot.
In addition, I work from home a minimum of one day per week. I also make use of all of those hotel and airline points that I’ve accumulated by going on weekend trips with my family.”
“I don’t think anyone will tell you that a good work/life balance is easy to achieve. In fact, it takes work and a lot of compromise. For that, I will start with how fortunate I am to have a supportive spouse who fills the voids at home. With two young girls, it is important to build time into those precious weekends to plan special events. I am a true believer in the importance of family vacations and leaving work at work. Lastly, take time for yourself every day. For me, that means reading for 20 minutes every morning while enjoying a cup of coffee before I start my day.”
“I'm not sure that there really is a work-life balance. It's more a work-life dance. Sometimes the dip is more to one side than the other. The key is that you’re in the lead, having developed a roadmap in concert with the people who are most important to you. Mine is based on the ability to pursue my passions (through work and through painting, for example) and dare to make a difference where it's needed. Another key is to dedicate planned rather than leftover time to friends and family, having their support in return. A good dose of humor (especially when your family is watching you try to multi-task — no such thing) mixed with a glass half-full approach doesn't hurt in keeping things on track.”