I don't have a boyfriend/fiance/husband and I don't have any kids, but I still have plenty to say about today's prompt. "How do you find balance with your kids, relationship and work life?"
Balance is hard. I know, I know, some day I'll look back on this period of my life and think "I had so much free time, and I wasted it." Whatever. I'm living in the moment and in the moment, my life is busy. And--good news--it just got busier!
I am SO excited to say that I have joined the Propelle flight crew, co-piloted by Carrie, Emily and Kate. Three inspiring women who started a new venture, focused on helping women entrepreneurs take flight. I feel honored just knowing them, let alone being on the crew. I'll be your social media manager, directing you to information and tips for ladies who women entrepreneurs. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter!
I'm sure more than one of you is wondering how I have time to take on another role when I already have one other full-time position, and two part-time ones (let alone friends and responsibilities to my housemates!). You think I sound like a crazy person. You're at least half right. I'm a little insane, but like I said at the beginning of this post: I don't have anything holding me back from taking on this position and the chance to meet and be molded by tons of inspiring women who are already connecting with Propelle (not to mention the three co-pilots, who have been incredibly gracious and kind to me already). Gotta take advantage of every opportunity that presents itself. In the words of my friend Erica, a yinzster's gotta hustle.
So even though I'm a nut job, I still like to make time for things in my life aside from work. How do I do it? First, I love what I do. Then it doesn't seem like work so much. It should still feel like work, because otherwise you're not growing. But, it helps if the work is challenging, but not soul-crushing.
I also schedule time for myself on my calendar. I try to say "yes" as much as possible to friends' invitations. But at the same time, I listen to my body. If I am exhausted at 9:30 on a Saturday night, maybe it's best that I stay in and watch movies on the couch (why yes, that did happen this weekend).
Living with other people is sometimes so challenging, but it's also super rewarding. If I have a particularly tough day at work and don't feel like seeing other humans, I know that my roommates will both respect my privacy and pull me out of my funk. All while I get to relax in my PJs.
How do you find balance?
Balance is tricky! It's something that I will probably need to work on for the rest of my life. My goal is to eliminate as many of the life-draining activities and keep maintaining the life-giving ones.
ReplyDeleteWe are SO excited to have you join the Propelle team! It's going to be a great year:)
Found your post via NaBloPoMo on blogger. It caught my eye because I too am single & childless. When I saw the prompt today I laughed at first, then had the same reaction you did - just because I'm single doesn't mean I don't struggle to balance my time. Thanks so much for sharing your experience of this too! And congrats on your new job! Sounds exciting!
ReplyDelete@Kate: I love that idea of eliminating life-draining activities. Because then, even if you're busy, you're feeling energized. Great idea!
ReplyDelete@Louise: Thanks for reading! I know that my life is about finding a different kind of balance than people with a partner and kids, but balance is still hard to find for all of us! And thanks for the congrats. I'm so excited about this opportunity.