HAVE YOU FOUND YOUR WORK-LIFE BALANCE?

Work Life Balance | Motte's Blog

Recently I have been spending quite a lot of time revisiting old memories, reminiscing about the past if you will; about the past few years in particular, which is when I finished my last years at university and headed into what is called “the real world” full of work work work (bleh), paychecks (yay) and tax returns (I think I still need some help with those).
You may have noticed that I mentioned ‘work’ three times here and that is because a) there’s loads of it b) it takes up 90% of my day and c) it has become a biiiig part of my life in general (seriously, does it ever end??). And I know I’m not the only one here!

(So, yes, let me just take a moment to be that person:

“Kids, take my advice and enjoy school as long as you can. It may not seem that way because Kirstin told Cindy who heard from Jimmy’s older brother (who is super cute and wears a leather jacket and must therefore be a reliable source) that his sister’s cousin’s best friend (!) said that you had cooties; but school. is awesome.”)

Seriously though, I just had a friend of mine over and we were thinking about all the cool things we did in school and all the cool adult things we would like to do now. And then we realized that never again will we have as much free time for extra-curricular (or extra-workular??) activities as we did back when we were in school. Ever.

How sad is that? Because let me tell you, I have no shortage of ideas! But the time… oh the time…where art though?

Back in school it was all about figuring out what to do with all the extra time we had. Now it is all about making time for just that one little project on the side...

(Hey, it’s me again, the one with the advice you really want to hear:

“Kids, remember to pick a job that you love, something that you can see yourself doing for the rest. of. your. life! All of it! Every day. Til the very. end.”)

(Whoa this is getting serious…)

It’s funny how at least sometimes we let our jobs consume us (like a drunk teenager raiding the fridge at 4 am) when really we shouldn’t. But we do anyway. Or maybe I just have a hard time finding the right work-life balance. (I mean, I am quite new to this whole work work work thing, so I’m not surprised…)

But my job is on my mind most of the time. It is also the go-to conversation starter when catching up with old friends. What have you been up to? Where are you now? How is the internship? Where do you go for lunch? Which of your colleagues do you despise the most? Are you being paid well??

(Although technically, you’re not supposed to ask others about their pay... but it’s just so darn interesting!!)

But truthfully, it is not what most people want to spend their non-working hours talking about. I have a friend whom I love dearly, but there are certain topics that we simply cannot address. And work is one of them.

Work Life Balance | Motte's Blog

I get the impression this is because it makes her uncomfortable. Career is such a big deal, but she is not in any way where she’d like to be at this point regarding hers. I finished my studies much sooner than she did so we are at two completely different points in our lives career-wise and that makes it hard – or for some perhaps even embarrassing – to speak about it.

It’s kind of like siblings competing over who can run faster. The one being left behind (even if only by a foot) does not want to spend the rest of the day dwelling on this unfortunate event. Whereas the winner can hardly contain his excitement and just keeps babbling on about his victory…

(Not that I consider myself the winner over my friend, don’t get me wrong! I, too, am not where I want to be just yet, there’s still a lot to be done…)

Or maybe she simply isn’t interested in pursuing a career the way I am and that makes it hard for us to stay on the same wavelength when briefly touching the pressuring topic…

I’m not sure.

But one thing is for sure: Whether we want to talk about it or not, our job is a big part of our lives, because … well, because it ensures our existence in this world. Or at least makes it that much easier to survive!

So I guess it comes as no surprise that it is on our minds a lot. Like, always.

When really we’d prefer running around our hometown dressed as stewardesses and housekeepers promoting our up and coming theatre performance!

Which, yes, is something I used to do.

0Work Life Balance | Motte's Blog

I guess what I am trying to say is that I need to figure out how to find that work-life balance; how to be fulfilled with my 9-5 job and find the time to put on a show on the side whenever I feel like it.

I believe this is something I’m just going to have to learn on the job (ha! get what I did here?)…

How about you, have you found that balance? How long did it take for you to get there?

And, more importantly, when’s the show?


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