24 hours in a day, 168 hours in a week. Junior investment bankers regularly work 80-90 hours a week. Many other high profile professions require the same level of commitment. Often those on the outside claim that working 80-90 hours a week is bad/wrong/terrible/silly/etc but we’ve spoken with so many folks who say working that much has been the best decision of their life – it allowed them to develop a deep and strong skill set far faster than would have been possible otherwise. In other words, by working 2x the hours, they were able to generate 5x or more the rewards. And depending on where you are in your career, investing heavily in your skills and competence can pay dividends for a long time.

Myeeka F | Founder, Tag Team Entertainment

One thing I always think and sometimes talk about is how much more I work since leaving corporate and going full time with my business. It definitely teaches you control. I sometimes get in these work grooves where I can work for hours, and often find myself on my computer (working) at least 75% of the day. Work is life. But what’s the saying, if you love what you do it’s not work at all. Read more>>

Susannah Morgan | Art Advisor

Work life balance is a moving target, and it always will be. I sit down in the morning with my coffee and write out everything that I need to accomplish that day. This includes the typical tasks like clean up the inbox, client meetings, artist research, and vendor bids, but it also includes things like exercise and Zoom dates with friends which are just as important as any of the other things I need to accomplish in a day. I definitely take more of a holistic approach to my days so that my days aren’t too heavy in one area, and too light in another. My fiancé and I both work from home- he runs a privacy and security consulting business. Read more>>

Sol Thomas | Mother, a Wife, Latinas Rising Founder, Executive Director, PhD Student

Through this journey I have found having a work life balance is imperative. It is the most important aspect of running your own business or working through projects. If you are not well mentally, physically, or emotionally it will reflect in your work. This is a lesson I learned the hard way this past year. I realized I was not giving myself the time and care I needed to thrive. Today, I am more conscientious of the time spent working on projects and the time for self-care and self-love. I am mindful about time and I constantly remind myself to slow down. I have incorporated mediation and prayer to my daily life, and this has made all the difference. Having a work-life balance is important for the quality of work you produce and for longevity. Read more>>

Luis Micó | Draftsman and Painter

As time goes by, working becomes more demanding, at the same time that there is a path traveled that helps you to get on the road. But that turns out to be the way to grow as a person and as an artist. Read more>>

Sedelah Haller | Professional Tattoo Artist

So, once upon a time, everything that I did, involved tattooing. My first handful of years were spent researching anything tattoo related, painting constantly, drawing constantly, fiddling with machines, learning about as much as could, regarding tattooing. I used to work long days, at the shop, waiting for walk-ins and for a stretch, worked 7 days a week for a good long while. I loved doing that! At some point, the client base that would walk through that shop, kind of destroyed my will to be there as much as I had. At this point, I’m about 13yrs in and I’ve learned that the best thing I can remember to do is to limit myself in how much I work. Not only is it a good idea, for adding years onto my tattoo life, I’d say, but it helps you keep your sanity and introduces actual balance. Read more>>

Josh Urban Davis | Artificial Intelligence Research Scientist and Artist

You have to make a choice when it comes to work/life balance: do you want to love your work, or do you value your personal time. When I was younger, I was convinced I needed a strict separation between work and life. Weekends were mine and no one else’s, I wouldn’t answer emails after 5pm, and I rarely socialized with people from work because I had my own personal circle. This division between my personal and professional life was sacred to me. I thought of myself as a working artist with a day-job, like all artists. Even the most successful artists I knew (and still true to this day) have day-jobs. Read more>>

Le Airre Morris | Art Educator

As of now, my balance between starting my career as an Art educator and creating new art pieces has drastically changed. However, it was my choice to put my career first and my side hustle second. Before August 24, 2020, I was pushing out new art work once a week and hosting painting classes. I stopped doing both to focus more on becoming a new elementary art teacher. Making this decision was the right move because Covid had changed our normal lives, Houston ISD went virtual for the first six weeks, and being a first year teacher…a lot of professional development training. So for 5 months, I have not made any personal art work or commission pieces. The time I would normally use for creating, I am either finishing up some training or finding ways to better reach out to the next generations about art. Read more>>

William Matthews | Author | Speaker | Real Estate Developer

Work life balance is extremely important and has changed with so many people performing their job at home. Some are just as productive working from home, while others struggle with parenting and being isolated. For years, I worked at a job that had an unhealthy work life balance. While I was interviewing for other jobs that was my number one question. Family time and mental alone time is very important to me. Meditation, working out, and not taking work home everyday helps me perform better at work. Read more>>

Andy Sommer | Entreprenuer

When people talk about a business being your baby, it’s not an over-exaggeration. You really do form an emotional connection that makes it hard to properly balance work and life because you truly feel that your work is your life. The hardest part is knowing how far to push yourself. As entrepreneurs you tend to be pretty optimistic about most things, it’s almost necessary to endure everything you need to. You always feel that this last project or task is truly the last thing you need to do and then you can relax. But that never happens. New problems and projects arise daily and it’s very easy to get stuck in a cycle. Early on, I did not do the best job of “relaxing”. I would keep convincing myself to just press through and then I would finally be able to relax. Read more>>