031: Balance

When I first graduated from university I started working for a large company - I referred to these times as my ‘corporate’ days. There were lots of reports, monthly meetings, team building events and the ever present drive for ‘employee satisfaction’. Every once an a while there would be a push from the head office for more ‘work/life balance’ - which usually involved everyone getting an afternoon off over the next few weeks...then back to normal. It’s hard to talk about balance in a culture that at the time rewarded those willing to hustle and willing to put in 70 hours a week. 

Nowadays I no longer have a head office mandating the importance of work/life balance. But as entrepreneurs I think it’s something we all struggle with. And given the current situation, it’s something we could all spend a little more time thinking about.

I think one of the myths about work/life balance is that it should be a daily balance. That somehow we'll find this magical formula and then everyday we hit the perfect balance between our work, our family, our passions and hobbies. But that’s not the case  - and I don’t believe in the long run it would be effective even if it was.

There are times when our work life demands more attention. When you go on tour - it requires you to put a lot of other things on the back burner. When you spend time in a studio recording an album, it necessitates you focusing less on other things. In the day to day, this is not balanced. We’re all pretty good at prioritizing work when we need to, and don’t stress too much about putting off the other things.

In the same way, I think we need to become better at prioritizing time with our family, and time for ourselves. In my ‘corporate days’ I’d get a few weeks' holiday every year...which I would often not take, let them roll over or get paid out for them because ‘hustle’. They were there for balance, to be able to take 2 weeks away from the job and focus on other things. But that can be hard when you are your own boss. 

We need to start thinking about balance as a cycle. There are times of the year that you will need to focus more on work, there are times in the year you need to focus more on family, there are times in the year you’ll need to focus more on your personal projects. You need to allow yourself to go deeper into each of these areas when it is that time. 

By seeking balance in the short term we end up diluting everything, nothing gets the attention that it deserves because your focus is being shared. When we think about balance as a long term project it is more sustainable. In the long run we’ll be more fulfilled. It will allow you to truly focus on what is important at that time, knowing that when this time passes, it will be followed by a time to put the focus on another area in your life.

I know right now there are a lot of people working much more than normal, I also know there are many that aren’t working. Both are struggling with what that means - and probably feeling uncertain about their current situation, feeling like they are not in control. But these feelings of uncertainty don't change anything about the situation we are in.

We need to take advantage of these times - put the focus where it needs to be, wherever that is for you. And know that in time we’ll have the ability to focus on another area soon.

~ Steve