NewsBreak Original

I moved to California in July of 2017 with my ex-fiancé and our very verklempt cat. We moved for my fiancés job and I wasn't able to nail one down before we left. Once we were somewhat settled, I spent hours every day applying to jobs, scouring LinkedIn and Indeed, crafting and re-crafting cover letters, taking phone interviews, and driving to in-person ones.

"How fun you get to travel for work," said my friend, whose job does not require travel. I don’t imagine that she’s imagining the crowded airport, the layovers, the time changes, the meetings. I imagine that the people who never travel for work imagine that traveling for work comes with a host of benefits, and it does, sort of. Airline miles, hotel points, paid diners, an occasional fun, team-bonding event, maybe a ticket to an event I may or may not want to go to. But when you spend most of your time on the move, you sometimes want to rest.

It’s going to go to sh*t. No matter what, I couldn’t shake the feeling. It’s going to go to sh*t. It’s going to go to sh*t. Believe me, I tried. I journalled, I gave gratitude, I wrote articles. All of this was an attempt to self-soothe.

Most people reading this type of article are full-time, non-remote, salaried employees. While there may be something comforting about having a predictable stable income, it should come as no surprise that we probably put in way more than the 40 hours a week clearly stated on our paychecks, directly or indirectly, in exchange for that stability.

Working from home has been a struggle for me, but after two years, I think I have finally transitioned in a way that has brought me success and gives me an achievable work-life balance.

It can be daunting to call into work when you’re sick, let alone when you need a day for yourself. However, sometimes doing this is necessary, not only for your well-being, but for your productivity as well.

Work-Life balance seems to be one of those hot topics these days. Particularly over the past 2 years, while the lines between the two seem less defined. I have long struggled with the notion that my career “defined me”, partly because I held some pride in that statement. You see I was raised with the motto, any job doing is worth doing well which I took quite literally. Working has always been enjoyable to me, and when the joy moves away, so have I.

Work-life balance is a word that many of us intuitively understand but may be difficult to accomplish. We've all experienced the sense of demands building up one side of the work-life balance and taking control of our days.

Guilty because you are not doing enough, guilty because you should be working more, guilty because you should focus better. Don’t worry, this is normal; feeling guilty IS actually normal, but that doesn’t mean it’s productive!