I don't believe there is such a thing as work-life balance. Work is part of life. So is family, so is rest, so is taking time for myself. But life is what I need to balance, the plate I have to keep spinning on a stick. I can't pretend one part is less important than any other part.
I think what most people mean when they say work-life balance is really work-life separation. We like to think work is work and life is life and we leave one behind when we engage the other. But there's a common thread, no matter how far from home or how different our work is from the other parts of our lives: us.
I am the same person at work and at home, no matter how much I want to be different. I don't fool anybody when I try to leave work stuff there, least of all the people who know me best. Wouldn't it be better to do work I don't feel like I have to keep from my family, and work in a place I don't feel like I have to protect from my family?
Maybe that's the key. Do work I don't feel guilty about bringing home, in a place I don't feel ashamed to have a family made up of real people with real needs.
Too much to ask? Maybe. But how can we get there (or even move in the right direction) if we're afraid to demand better than what we have?
I'm not worrying about work-life balance any more. I'm going to balance my life instead.
Make it a great day!
Scott
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