The secret to the mythical work life balance
The endless talk of the work, life balance in my experience leads to a lot of guilt and feeling of inadequacy, particularly in working Mums who want to give their all to their family and their jobs. Running a Costa del Sol marketing agency, as well as working 4 hours a day with a client in their office and with a two month old baby at home, I was chasing this dream and feeling terrible as a result. I was trying to be everything to everyone and killing myself and falling short on all counts.
I was so grateful for the advice from the lovely Marina Nitzak from Luks Marbella who said that the secret to a work life balance was being able to prioritise and know that you can’t do everything all the time. She said that it’s OK to say that one day, or one week, your priority needs to be your work, and other times when your children really need you that you will drop everything and be there for them 100%. I really needed to hear that and be allowed to give myself a break and know that I could be a great Mum and a great business person, but not always at the same time. Thanks Marina!
Since I stopped trying to be Super Mum I am working on my own version of the work life balance, working as hard and intensively as possible whilst my son is at school, then giving myself permission to be with him for an hour when he gets back and wants his Mummy. We have built an office and playroom side by side and so when he’s had his fix of me, he can chill out and play and often gives us another couple of hours of work time in a very relaxed and positive way.
This works for us as a marketing and PR company, but won’t work for everyone, however is a good example of the way that you can find your own balance when you stop feeling bad about not being perfect and start taking a problem solving approach to your work and your life.
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