Is it really work life balance that you want?

One lunchtime, back in my pre-kid corporate days I went along to a workplace discussion panel on cultivating better work-life balance. 

My naivety was pretty telling, even though I didn’t realise it at the time. 😄

Turns out ‘work-life balance’ was a euphemism for ‘how to balance being a parent with a successful corporate career’

I came out of that lunch hour with the conclusion that I couldn’t. 🥙

Or moreso, that I didn’t want to.

Not if it meant going back to my emails after my kids bedtime, or feeling guilty about leaving for nursery pick up. 👶

Even that realisation wasn’t enough to stop me from trying for a while anyway - but that’s not the point of the story. 

The point is that even back then in those days before kids I was striving for what I thought was ‘work-life balance’.

I’d assumed that the discussion panel would be about how to spend more time on your hobbies while still being successful at work. 🏆

Now, it seems so obvious that what I was actually looking for was fulfilment. 

Work-life balance often isn’t what we think it is. It doesn’t equate to hours at ‘work’ vs hours at ‘life’.

Yes, having a business will give you more flexibility. For me, the key has been actually wanting to spend time at ‘work’ and to make an effort to protect that time.

Tune into Episode 89 of the PODCAST to hear more.