The Coronavirus has given many us an opportunity to pause and think about life, our purpose, and even the right work life balance. What’s your perspective and has it changed over time?

Dario Luis Sabina | Director, scriptwriter, cinematographer, visual artist, photographer

Working in something you love, it’s easy to lose balance in the work-life relationship. That’s what happened to me. Additionally, I come from an Italian family where work was above all else. So for a long time, I prioritized work over all other aspects of my life. Read more>>

Tang Yitao | Model maker & Handmade worker

In my view, work and life are both distinct and closely interconnected. Work provides me with income and a sense of achievement, making my life more enjoyable. Similarly, inspiration from life also serves as a starting point for my creative work. Read more>>

Ari Hader | Actor

The work/life balance of an actor is complicated because while sometimes that balance is tricky due to practicality – i.e. “I have to be on set for a month in Hawaii” (#manifesting that 🙂 ) – often it’s the mental load that can take you out of the present moment with your family and friends. Read more>>

Ayden Lamb | Artist & Animator

I think my work/art used to be made under considerably more self-applied pressure, and because of that was integrated a lot less smoothly into my life. First I was teaching myself to animate, so I was really hard on myself with technique and process.  Read more>>

Johnny Mahon | Producer/DJ

It’s been a gradual transition from starting out purely as a fan when I first discovered electronic music in 2009 to today where I fully treat it as a career. It’s been a gradual process – for a while I viewed it as just a hobby, so I only partook in it when the mood struck. Read more>>

Stella Sizhe Huang | Interaction and User Experience Designer

Earlier in my career, I was deeply committed to advancing quickly, dedicating extensive hours to work because I was eager to learn and grow. However, this intense focus eventually took a toll, leaving me feeling drained and diminishing my effectiveness both personally and professionally. Read more>>

Lindsay Teske | Founder and Director of Carnival of Oddities

When I was just starting Carnival of Oddities, I essentially had absolutely no work life balance. I was fresh out of grad school and eager to devote all my time to establishing and developing the business.  Read more>>

Shannon Hoff | Social Media & Content Strategy Consultant

I think of myself as really lucky that when the pandemic lock downs happened, I had already been working from home for a while, so there was really no transition for me. I saw how much this impacted my clients and other people I knew, so I understood how fortunate I was. Read more>>

Kylie Popa | Illustrator & Storyteller

There was a point in time where all the popular artists on social media were preaching the need to be creating every single day and in copious amounts. Otherwise art — or music, or writing, or what have you — wasn’t your calling. And for a long time, I fed into that idea. Read more>>

Faryal Ahmed | Founder & Head Chaiwali

When you finally find something you’re passionate about it becomes hard not to want to take it to the next level. I personally still struggle with this even now and can see the effects it has had on my personal life and health even though I was once known as the self-care queen. Read more>>

Luisa Sabogal | Registered Dietitian Nutritionist

Work life balance has changed over the past 10 years as I have come to realize that work will always be there but time with my family is fleeting, especially time with my kids. Although both work and being with my family fulfill me, time with my children and husband are a must to be the best person and dietitian I can be, and to feel complete. Read more>>

Danica Dias | Founder of Grown Folks

I think COVID impacted a lot of us in terms of what our work/life balance was prior to the pandemic and how we want to live our lives now post-pandemic. Given that for the majority of my career, I have mostly had territory-based sales positions, I was used to spending a lot of time “in the field”; cars, planes, hotels, entertaining clients, late nights and fancy events. Read more>>

Megan Bull | Reclaim Foundation Founder

In my previous endeavors I was able to balance the concept that “work is the 9-5 on weekdays”. I am able to be extremely productive in the times set so that outside of those hours and on the weekends there was nothing left for me to complete or to worry about. This left me the balance I needed to focus on my life outside of work. Read more>>

Dalton Zongshian Lu | Director/Producer

My journey toward achieving work-life balance has been profoundly personal and transformative. In the early days, my passion for film led me to an intense work ethic—I thrived on the energy of endless nights crafting stories and managing productions. Read more>>