What’s the right balance between work and non-work time? The traditional 9-5 has slowly disappeared with the emails and zoom and texting going far beyond traditional business hours. We asked members of our community to share with us how they think about work-life balance.

Katie Leikam | Psychotherapist, Gender Specialist, National Speaker, Consultant

When I first started my private practice, I saw client five days a week and worked every Saturday and well into the evening. Sometimes I wouldn’t get home until 8:00 pm. Over time, I realized that to have a better quality of life, I needed to have better boundaries with my client hours. Now, I am able to be home with my family weekends and have dinner with them every night because I started seeing my clients during daytime hours only. I really enjoy the balance of work and life I have right now, because even though, I might work late now or on the weekends, it’s always by choice and not appointment. Read more>>

Darlene Felix | Master cosmetologist

Balance for me is the key to succeeded in life. I have been asked by several of my clients, friends, and business associates how I balance my home, personal, and business life so well? My answer is always the same “I have no choice”. As women we wear so many hats and get pulled in different directions daily, without some sense of balance we will be overwhelmed. Creating a perfect balance is definitely a working progress. Though I am doing very well at them moment things are constantly being added and removed to make room for change. Saying NO is very important, putting yourself and well-being first, and taking time to recharge. Read more>>

Jazmine J. | Nail Design Architect

I think having and keeping a stable work life balance is one of the most difficult things especially as an entrepreneur. Having balance also provides a Sense of structure and stability. For me this is one of My daily struggles. It definitely changed for me when I became a mother. To any mother her child/children are her world. There are times in my industry that I actually spend a lot of time away from my children. I operate as a single business owner meaning I don’t have any help with my clientele. It’s simple I don’t work I don’t eat which is not an option when I have a family to feed. It can be very difficult to please everyone. You have to put things in order of importance to be able to fully achieve a healthy balance. This is one of my daily struggles but I strive daily to keep my balance in order. Read more>>

Jonah McDonald | Author, Storyteller, and Park Ranger

Though balance is something I have always wished for, I have not always been in a position to strive towards balance between my work and home life. Especially when starting a business, my need to generate an income forced me to funnel almost all of my time into work. Though I was passionate about my industry, much of the work of running the business caused anxiety, stress, and frustration. As a result, I have constantly made adjustments. What work causes less stress while producing more income? I’ll keep that. What stressful work is worth sticking with despite the pain? Are there things I love doing so much that I’ll keep no matter the financial result? Should my work shift to more closely match my passion? What I’ve found is that my understandings of “work” and “life” have constantly changed. Read more>>

Gabrielle Seunagal | Freelance Writer & SEO Copywriter

Since starting my career in 2017, my work-life balance has certainly evolved. When I first started freelance writing, I used to do it non-stop, day in and day out. Granted, this was during a time where I was considerably less established in the business and had to do the groundwork. However, as time has passed and as I’ve worked my way up in the freelance writing business, I’ve been able to still prioritize my writing while making room for other things in my life. I view balance as very important; fitness, for instance, — whether it’s time spent in the gym, doing axe-throwing, or training at my karate dojo — provides a great source of balance. Staying physically active is not only helpful for me to maintain work-life balance, but it also makes me a better writer. Read more>>

Lauren Sok | Physical Therapist

As a busy mother of three and entrepreneur, I have learned there is no such thing as balance. I like to think about it as balancing! We often strive to find the perfect work/life/school balance, when in fact we are simply balancing our lives and adapting to new situations. I first learned of this intentional differentiation while reading one of my favorite business books, The ONE Thing by Gary Keller. An example of this is riding a bike. To stay upright you may think it involves balance (a noun), however the cyclist is not perfectly balanced. Instead, he is performing constant micro-adjustments based on the road and terrain. In other words, he is balancing (a verb). I believe we are all balancing the best we can…we are all doing what needs to be done to keep our families, businesses, and lives upright. Read more>>

Jay Carlson | Puzzle Designer & Publisher

When I started Clue Town in 2012, it was definitely a side hustle. I was a stay-at-home dad with a 2 year old and an infant. Clue Town was my attempt to earn a little income without having to go into an office. Back then I was working maybe 15 hours a week. As I began selling at festivals, the business grew. I designed new puzzle hunts and attended more festivals, and around 2014 I was working about 30 hours a week. This time period for the business was the hardest, because it was difficult to work during daytime hours since I was caring for a now 4 and 2 year old. The bulk of my work was done at night from the time the kids went to bed until 11 pm. In 2017, both kids started going to school during the day, which is was when I considered Clue Town a full time job. Every day I’m either designing a new hunt, assembling books, packing orders, or delivering to stores. Read more>>

Erika Moore | Product and Portrait Photographer, Videographer, Bartender and Co-Founder of Whiskey and Rosemary

My work life balance has had a major shift during the pandemic. Due to COVID, I haven’t really worked in a brick and border establishment since mid March. In effect, I have been given the opportunity to focus on the growth of my personal business, photography and videography and another I co-founded with Raquel Ravenell, Whiskey and Rosemary. I am learning to better balance and schedule my day accordingly, knowing that there is something that always needs to be done or improved but also giving myself time to rest, care for self, and watch a movie every now and then. Read more>>