Work Life Balance (or Integration)

Being in the line of work I am, I get asked often by family, friends and coworkers alike about "work life balance." How do you do it? A full time job. A full time mom. At the company I work at, Talent Plus, we prefer to call it "work life integration" because it's not about finding equal balance between the two, but instead integrating both together in your life in a meaningful way that makes you happy. For me, if you find a job you love, I don't see my work days as starting at 8 a.m. and ending at 5 p.m. If you want to place a start and end time to your career, you're probably not happy in your job. I work because I love what I get to do every day, so whether I pull out my laptop after the kids go to bed to finish a project or research a topic, I'm okay with that. In fact, I enjoy it! My work and personal life flow together and overlap from time-to-time. And that's fine by me.

Here's a snapshot of my work life "balance" in action. Kind of funny, I know. Our daycare was on vacation one day, so I stayed home with Norah and simply worked from home. I am fortunate enough to work for a company who is flexible and who understands these things happen and embraces concepts like self-management, ownership, accountability and trust when it comes to needing to take days like this to work from home while you take care of some personal things. I don't feel like I need to over-explain myself or feel guilty - my coworkers get it and they don't question it. I do the same for them. Norah sure liked the opportunity to hang out with mommy for a day. I did too. :)