Comments on: The Work-Life Balance

By: Gina Conroy

Gina Conroy — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 15:54:00 +0000

>I’m still trying to balance life, career and family. That’s the reason I started my website Writer…Interrupted. To find other writers who are doing it better than I am and learn from them! Now with my networking community of interrupted writers over 150, it seems there’s a lot of people trying to find the answers to this question. I love what you said, “we can look at it in terms of spending appropriate amounts of time and energy on each of the areas of our lives…The most important thing is to recognize when things get out of balance, and take steps to correct it as much as possible.”

By: Nancy I. Sanders

Nancy I. Sanders — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 07:07:00 +0000

>Okay, so I’m a day late on my comment because I ran out of time! Smile. But seriously, I agree with everyone here–priorities. An article by Stormie Omartian changed my life about 15 years ago when she said she sets the kitchen timer to spend one hour with God each day. That’s impossible–I can’t even find 10 minutes to have a quiet time! I cried, but then tried it. Here I am all these years later and that sweet hour of prayer and worship every day (and the struggle it is to find it between deadlines and kids and hubby and ministries) is what gets my crazy life back in balance each and every single day.
-Nancy

By: cballan

cballan — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 05:13:00 +0000

>I’m sufficiently balanced to know how unbalanced I am. Most of the day, I’m just crawling from one side of the see-saw to the other.

By: Randy Mortenson

Randy Mortenson — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 03:21:00 +0000

>What I did to find balance in my life was quit my former career and move to a tiny town in North Dakota. My commute used to be a half hour drive early in the morning, now it’s a 2-minute walk, I kid you not, around 9 a.m. My kids are 4, 2 and 1, and I spend tons of time with them and my wife. Yet still–to carve out writing time for me comes down to two words: Night owl.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 22:15:00 +0000

>I enjoyed reading all the comments. I just want to add that I can only take one day at a time. I try to do my very best each day, but when I fail to keep the balance and order in the right perspective I do not get upset with myself. I just wait for God's knew mercies as he renews them every morning. Then I start over, most days I am on target but for those I am not...I forgive myself and go on and think, "I'll be on target tomorrow."

Regards,
Rhonda(Rkh)

By: Kara

Kara — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 20:24:00 +0000

>Hi Rachelle,

To be honest I find the term "work-life balance" a bit of an oxymoron because it seems to infer that can't be the same thing that you need to leave 'work' in order to have a 'life'.

Personally I am very fortunate to have a job that I love and so I consider it a fundamental part of my life. Many of my colleagues are also great friends, I get a real sense of personal satisfaction out of what I do and the fact that I get paid to do it is even better :)

Having said that I do live in a constant tension of trying to balance what my job demands with me alongside writing, being heavily involved in my church and having enough time for my family and friends.

I haven't managed to get it perfect yet but one thing that I have managed to work out so far is to know what your top priorites are and when time is stretched don't be afraid to say no to things that aren't one of them.

Enjoy the skiing!

By: Tiffany Stuart

Tiffany Stuart — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 19:40:00 +0000

>Thanks for opening your heart and making me feel normal.

By: Marla Taviano

Marla Taviano — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 19:18:00 +0000

>Yesterday I tried to write a new post on my website. I wrote six words about balance, said "forget it" and logged out. Ugh.

The ONLY way I survive ANY day with any semblance of balance is to ask God first thing (and throughout the day) to fill me with His Holy Spirit and to show me how to put first things first.

I'm clueless and useless (and frazzled to the core) when I try to do it on my own.

By: Tracey Bateman

Tracey Bateman — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 16:24:00 +0000

>Hi Rachele,
Great topic and one I definitely needed to read!
I find that whatever is most pressing gets all of me. I'm not good with balance. If I'm on deadline, I can't focus on anything until it's off my plate and if I feel pulled then nothing gets done because I freeze up. I think I need pills. :) I wish I could find that place where I don't feel so overwhelmed with every detail. My husband is very laid back and it drives me crazy!
Tracey Bateman

By: Julie Johnson

Julie Johnson — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 15:45:00 +0000

>Kudos to you all. Don't give up. In fact, cherish the time you have with your families: the kids will be gone before you know it. Enjoy them. (They can be a treasure of inspirations for your writing.)

My widowed friends tell me their spouses were gone all too soon. Then, they had another choice to make: to be lonely or to continue in the work God had given them to do.

As Richard said, Thank God for the opportunities you have along the way. And have fun!!!!! (And if you're doubly blessed, you'll have grandchildren to dangle upon your knee.)

By: Mark H.

Mark H. — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 15:39:00 +0000

>I think as you mentioned, God gives us clear rankings for our priorities: Himself, spouse, kids, everything else...in that order. We don't always hold ourselves to that, though.

If I knew the answer on how to find balance between all of these things, I'd have written a book and already have been published!

By: Cyndi Lewis

Cyndi Lewis — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 13:17:00 +0000

>Enlightening! This is one subject I don’t get tired of hearing about. Thanks Rachelle.

By: Timothy Fish

Timothy Fish — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 13:01:00 +0000

>It all comes down to priorities. We do the things that we think are the most important, so when we say we don’t have time to do something, we are saying that the thing we don’t have time to do is less important than some of the other things. I don’t have kids or a spouse, and I only work forty hours a week, so it seems like I should have more time than I do. Church takes up a large portion of that time, with everything from preparing to teach on Sunday, to maintaining the website, to committee meetings. If I had a wife, I would probably pass some of the things I am doing now to someone else and find some way for my wife to help me do some of those things, but as is evidenced by the typical activities of married people, any time I gained would probably be taken up with other activities. In all situations, we must decide what is the most important to us and do those things first. We should be careful and make sure that we give ourselves an appropriate amount of time to rest, even God rested on the seventh day.

By: One More Writer

One More Writer — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 12:53:00 +0000

>I always appreciate your honesty on this subject because it is such a vital one. If we find success at our profession but lose our family in the process we have not been successful at all!

I, too, struggle with this every day. My kids are 13, 15 and 17, so the days with them in the house are very short indeed. In spite of the urges I feel to focus so much of my time and energy on my own pursuits, I know I'll regret it if I do that to the detriment of my relationship with them in these last few years of adolescence!

Thanks, again, for the reminder that I do not struggle in this alone!