By far the most common conversation we have with the folks we interview is about work-life balance. Starting a business or pursuing a creative career makes finding work life balance really tough because there is no clear start and end to one’s work day. We’ve shared some of our conversations on the topic below.

Abel Getaneh | Entrepreneur

My work life balance has significantly changed over time. I would say COVID-19 definitely had its effects on me. Getting a 9-5 job in high school was never really in my plan book. When covid happened, I had a lot of free time after online school. So I decided to get a job. The first job I got was as a Lead setter for a Solar Panel Company (Sunpro). Sunpro hours were from noon- 6, so I had to get all my school work done in the morning. It was difficult, but I made it work. After Sunpro, I got a better position with ESD Solar as a Licensed Solar Contractor. Being in the solar game allowed to build my sales experience. I got to meet with customers to present and pitch out Solar services. I would say I was pretty successful in my field. As far as balance goes though, it was manageable. As a contractor, I don’t have to work a specific number of hours. Since I work off of appointments that allowed me to be really flexible in my day to day life. Read more>>

Apryl Schlueter | Get It Done Guru & Chief Energy! Officer of The Cheerful Mind

One of the things I talk about in my book, Finding Success in Balance, is that balance is a term that differs from person to person, as well as during different phases of your life. It’s really important that if you’re hoping to achieve balance in your life, that you first define what that means to you, and then putting action steps in place in order to achieve it. During COVID, my balance shifted to focusing solely on my own self-care and my family. I kept active components of my business active, but opted not to secure additional business. This proved to be crucial in my own mental health. This greatly differs from how I may have defined balance in college; as an example, making sure that I had an active social life while still getting good grades was how I would have previously defined it. Read more>>

LaToya Smith | Counselor Educator & Licensed Professional Counselor

I use to be terrible with work/life balance. It wasn’t until I experienced extreme burn out in a position and was questioning whether or not I wanted to continue to be a counselor, that I started really taking self care serious. My balance has changed over time as I have had more time available in my schedule. My thoughts about balance have shifted. I use to feel guilty about taking time for myself and could not turn my brain off of thinking about all of the things I needed to do. That still happens every once in a while but now I try to view it as ‘I won’t be good for anyone else in my life if I have not taken time for myself’. I believe I show myself much more self-compassion. Read more>>