Our community is filled with hard-working, high achieving entrepreneurs and creatives and so work-life balance is a complicated, but highly relevant topic. We’ve shared some responses from the community about work life balance and how their views have evolved over time below.

Grace De Silva | Film Director, Producer & Actor

Life was much simpler before having kids because I could just focus on my career and my relationship. Now life is different as a new mother of two under two, wife, and creative entrepreneur. Now my life requires an enormous amount of time management. And a big part of that time management is pure execution. I have to execute every day, every time I get the chance because that’s what separates the people who make it in this industry from those who don’t. I have to be focused on executing. Yet at the same time I have to find this balance because I want to soak up every moment of this time in my children’s lives. Balance is very important to me and as a parent, I feel a big responsibility to teach my children the value of maintaining good mental, spirituality, and physical health along with the attainment of wealth and worldly ambitions. Read more>>

Daniel Rice | Fitness Trainer

I think a balance between work, your own fitness and spare time for yourself and family is very important. I’ve learned that scheduling your workout session in your calendar has been very helpful. Telling myself that the evenings from 7pm on is my time with family or time for myself to unwind. I find it to be vital for a healthy well-being. Read more>>

Lauren Poole | Fitness Instructor

I didn’t grow up with money. The moment I could begin to make an income all mine, I didn’t have an off switch. Especially living (at the time) in a 24/7 town, I had endless possibilities to be a hustler. Over time, my energy levels were low. I was never mentally present and I wasn’t enjoying much of anything. I knew that all had to change. You can’t work your life away. We all need to take time to shut off and take care of ourselves. Not only for our personal health, but to make better professional decisions. A full day off is mandatory now. No work at all, even house work. And past 10pm my phone goes to airplane mode. There is nothing I need to read or see or talk to after that time. It’s my own self boundary. Read more>>

Pentené Milner | Wardrobe Healer & Style and Lifestyle Blogger

Work life balance is so, so important and it is something I discovered at the start of my healing journey. Without it you are not living a life of fulfillment. My balance changed as I have experienced growth and no longer having a desire to think that getting things done required no breaks. Or feeling guilty for taking a break because my body was forced to. In order for you to be at your best, you have to rest and be still. Your spirit requires reflection to determine if you are headed in the direction of purpose. That was a beautiful lesson for me to learn in order for me to become better. I think about balance in many different ways: being still to be in the presence of God, taking time for self-care and self-love, spending time with loved ones, taking a break from work which includes vacationing, a hobby or extracurricular activity and working in a career that is purposeful. Read more>>

Cari Hah | Bar Professional

When I was just starting out my career in the bar world, I was really determined to become successful in this industry, so my work life balance was definitely non-existent. I was 100% work and no “personal life”. Every moment of every day i spent either working behind the bar, reading about bar related things, practicing technique and creating cocktails, doing events, etc. Anything I could do to further myself and my knowledge of bar, I would do and there really was zero time to rest or have a personal life. I have dedicated myself wholly to this industry because I am so passionate about great cocktails, bars, and hospitality. And also passionate about the cocktail scene in Los Angeles. I love my city and there are so many wonderful bartenders an cocktail bars here, I wanted to really uplift and support my city’s hospitality industry in some kind of meaningful way. Read more>>

Angela Singer | Voice Over Artist & Meditation Teacher

Experiencing balance has always been important to me on some level, but it took a while for me to actually understand what that meant to me. To me, balance is honoring and prioritizing (in mind, body, and speech) what’s most important to me. I’ve never felt wildly out of balance when it comes to work-life for an extended period of time, but what I notice now is how much more I value prioritizing my time both personally and professionally. I’m much more intentional with my energy. I’m always checking in with myself to make sure what I’m doing is aligned with my core values and will help me (and in turn others) continue to thrive. By doing this and honoring my boundaries, I’ve been able to integrate work and life in a much more fluid way. Sometimes that might look like staying up late working a few nights in a row to be able to enjoy a daytime hang with a friend. Or it might mean saying no to a project because the content doesn’t fuel the direction I want to go next. Read more>>

Daniela Spagnolo | Singer & Composer

Without balance, the center is sacrificed. Everything has a center. When that place is your starting point, when we find our balance from that center, we create from more of a peaceful, productive place. I try to tune in to my intuition as much as possible. I NEVER force myself to write music or sing. If I’ve hit a wall I let go. It usually means I need to change the focus and recharge. It means something is out of balance. Maybe I’m over thinking. Maybe I have doubt about what I’m creating. Maybe I think I should be more like someone else instead of me. So I go out into my garden or simply just look up at the beautiful sky! Sometimes I just sit still.. I’ve become a better listener to myself. It’s not always easy when the outside world seems to be telling us go. go, go! Don’t be still or quiet. Fit into a mold. I find when I allow myself to just be still and breath until I find my center, all of the answers and melodies reside there. Read more>>

Dr. Celeste Hamilton | Meditation Teacher & Wellness Coach

Balance begins when you can establish boundaries and support systems that allow you to move towards your desires in life, without compromising feeling good throughout your journey. Balance will look different for every single one of us, because we are all on separate paths. Five years ago I moved countries, changed jobs, got divorced and had a baby all within the span of six months. I was a single mom working 10 to 12 hour days in my corporate biotech career, and I was trying to start up a wellness blog and business on the side. On the outside it looked like I had it all together with a successful career and having moved to the city of my dreams, but in reality nothing was feeling very good. I was disconnected from myself and caught up in what seemed like an endless cycle of doing, which affected both my personal and professional relationships. Work-life balance during this period of my life was an elusive concept to me. Read more>>

Janice Lok Kwan Woo | Director & Producer

Being a filmmaker and an entrepreneur, for me –  there’s no work life balance. There’s always unexpected things that can come up, whether it’s an opportunity or an issue – you just have to do it right away before it’s too late. I believe that it’s vital to move quickly in the film business, perhaps in any business. The opportunity can be gone in a second if you didn’t catch it in time. I try to set a schedule for myself to work and to do my personal things. However, I can’t always stick to it because there’s always an email or a message that I need to reply to as soon as possible. I’m also consistently developing new story ideas so I have to sit down and drop notes whenever something comes to mind. Also, a lot of friends of mine are in the film industry too, so a lot of gatherings can end up being a start of a new exciting project! So that’s pretty much an endless cycle for me, but I do enjoy it very much. Read more>>