Balancing Work and Life

As I’ve spent the past few weeks in the US, spending time with family and friends, catching up with my loved ones, and delving into the awesome food options (Who thought of frosted chocolate mini-wheats?! So good), working has taken a backseat to spending time with people I only get to see about every two years.

A backseat, but it’s still there.

Working for myself has taught me that creating a work schedule that I stick to is ultimately up to myself. It’s not easy, and the basis behind having enough time to work and live is to remember my priorities.

We work to live, not live to work. With that in my mind, I schedule myself so family and health comes before work. It’s not easy to do, and sometimes, I mess up, like anyone else, but if I don’t make these priorities, no one else will for me.

What does this mean? In practical terms, it means I schedule specific time off every week and set it aside for family, and for my health. And I set aside specific time for work.

And then I stick with it. Finding how to stick with it is harder than a schedule given to you, and for myself, involves a lot of tricks such as writing at a non-internet computer. And not allowing myself to read books first thing in the morning, or play games.

All of these things are my triggers, things which I know will lead me into not adhering to my work schedule. So I just say no. If I don’t start the temptation, then I don’t continue down the path of lazy.

My updates are semi-sporadic as I continue to travel in the US, but I will do my best to keep up with weekly updates and book reviews.

My latest article, titled “Are You Homesick, or Nostalgic?” is out over at inloveabroad.com. Feel free to check it out.