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.

Jenny Berglund Castro | CEO, Entrepreneur & Energy Healer

I have always loved being busy, but it hasn’t always loved me back! Today, I’m a mother of two, a business entrepreneur and energy healer. This may sound like a lot but this trinity has actually brought more balance into my life. It takes a lot of creativity, work and determination to create a good work life balance, especially as an entrepreneur. I had to make a conscious decision to create a better balance in my life. We know that the only constant in life is change and in that I have to continuously rearrange and find new ways to keep balanced. I started Find Rhythm (@find_rhythm) as a place, a refuge, for space and balance, awareness and ease. This is where I connect with myself, my inner wisdom, my intuition. From that space I create, find energy and access power to help others find their own inner strength, through energy healing and intuitive work. Through balance, I get more clarity and creative ideas to put into the world. I am Co-Founder and Co-CEO of YOUBE (yoube.today) a new kind of co-working space opening up this spring. YOUBE is a place for creativity, productivity and those in between moments. Read more>>

Adam Rochelle | Pop Music Producer & Keyboardist

I have a hard time deciding where the boundary is at this point. I’ve met most of my friends through gigging and working together on stage or in the studio, so our time spent together is often in the context of music regardless. Most music performing I’ve done goes on at night as the entertainment for others’ free time; but rather than seeing it as work while others are having fun, I generally see it as hanging out with my friends on stage. As a producer, I always have an artistic interest in whatever client’s project I am working on, so I enjoy being expressive through that medium as well. Though I don’t spend a lot of time not “working” at this point, it doesn’t feel out of balance with life because I’ve surrounded myself with friends and projects that are personally fulfilling as well as productive for my career. Read more>>

Juve J. Cortes Rivera | Educator & Creator

We were raised with the belief that it is important to balance three things in life: work, health, and family. That’s not easy to do where we come from. Our solution has been to find an artform that mixes all of these. Crafting, creating, and painting are therapeutic activities; because we incorporate our family, it has become a collective endeavor; and because we love creating, we don’t see our labor strictly as work. And that’s how we found our balance. Read more>>

Jacob Berger | Jacob Berger, Tom Carpenter, and Devan Welsh make up the electro-pop band Moontower.

Devan – Pre-pandemic, Moontower usually flips between the live show state and the studio writing/recording/producing state, with a heavy preference for the live show (we really love being on the road). With 2020’s rough timeline, the first half of this year had us busy with livestreams and a virtual tour (all of which was really fun and challenged us to innovate!) The second half of this year allowed us time to craft a larger-sized project (our first album!). The album creation process has required a more divey-ed up studio process that’s typically condensed. Jacob – Sometimes it can feel like there is no balance because as a musician the “life” is often the inspiration for the “work”. Over time we’ve become better at understanding when we’ve taken in enough “life” to have filled our wells enough to create (work), and conversely to know when we’re banging our heads against a wall due to an empty tank. I think it’s one of the great privileges of being a songwriter that your hobbies, the books you read, the people you meet can all be a part of your art (your work). Read more>>

Allison Kunath | Artist

In the first few years of my business, there was very little distinction between working and not working. I thought that I had a pretty healthy balance, since I managed to maintain a rich social life, and travel a lot. But in reality, I was quite literally always working. I was constantly tethered to my inbox with my phone glued to my hand. And even though I spent time all over the world, I went years without a proper vacation. I actually remember that I used to shock my girlfriends with my ability to covertly snap, edit, and post something to Instagram in the middle of dinner. I took a lot of pride in the amount of energy I was giving my business but it became clear that a little compartmentalization would benefit both my business and my mental health. I used to run myself ragged out of fear that inertia would permanently grind me to a half if I took a real break. Now I think of myself as the battery that powers my business. I know that it’s impossible to stay powered on all the time. I’ve got to take time to re-charge so I can continue to produce sustainably. Read more>>

Madeleine Mayi | Musician

I think this is something that people have been thinking a lot about lately- especially this year. With being home all the time you can go both ways- it can either be an opportunity to procrastinate endlessly, or an opportunity to never stop working. At the beginning of my artist career in 2017, I had a very manic approach to work. I was constantly filling my schedule- with things that I realize now were sometimes not even helpful- but being busy made me feel like I was accomplishing things. But I would work until I would get sick. Then over the years I moved into a more all or nothing approach. I would have an EXTREMELY productive month, then would take a few weeks off, and the cycle would repeat. This was prompted by a realization that all of my best ideas came out of boredom. So I would let myself get bored for a few weeks and then jump back in. This way of doing things was not too bad, but still became very tiring. This year has changed that though- because of having endless time, I have found that a much more disciplined approach to my DAILY life has been best for me. Read more>>

Jay Ham | Artist & Model

To be quite honest, it’s a process I am still trying to grasp and understand, especially now that I have a family. Work life balance was never something I put time into worrying about until a few years ago. I always have been a person to go and go and go until I can’t go anymore. And that probably hasn’t always been the best way to go about things, but it’s just all I’ve ever known. Music is something I used to fill up majority of my free time with while moving around as a kid, and I fell in love with not only music itself, but the journey as well. I’d be a lie to say I don’t have trouble balancing the important things in life. It’s something I work on daily. I recently in the past 4 years fell in love with the most amazing woman I hope to spend my last breathe with. To add to that, we also had a beautiful son in the past two years, so there are things nowadays that require a lot more attention, love, and energy in my life, that did not need my attention before. And I love every second of being a partner and a dad, so its not easy to sacrifice my time with my family. Read more>>

Caid | Hip hop Artist & Entrepreneur

Finding a balance with work and my daily living has been a challenge in itself. I accumulated many passions through my short time of existence. Drawing, painting, playing guitar and sax, rock climbing, fishing and hunting, martial arts, photography and going on adventures. All which could be considered, my outlets. So finding time in life to continue all of these as well as making music my career was tough. Not to mention squeezing in time for the responsibilities of day to day living. I’ve always been a hard worker and I always try to find the most efficient way to do things. As I matured as a hip hop artist I started noticing all the little hurtles and obstacles that were in my way. Jobs, people, self doubt, money and the list goes on. It took me years to figure out a way out of the 9-5 and everyday hustle. My craft needed more time and more of my attention. I decided to make music my 9-5. I opened a recording studio, Co-Lab Entertainment. While running my studio I was still working my 9-5 to supplement income. I was also in a relationship with a talented woman. Read more>>

Alex Yonkovich | Podcast Co-Host

I think my balance was pretty solid when I was working in shows every night. That consistency allows you to be clear about work time and play time. With the circumstances of COVID, it is challenging to create and foster that balance because some days our full of work and others not so much. The most important part is writing things down; making a list of what needs to get done truly allows you to stay focused and have great time management. And on the other side of the coin, listening to your body and your mind. If you can’t focus or you are mentally exhausted, that is your chance to take time for yourself, meditate, and reset. Listening to your own needs always paves the way for balance. Read more>>

Bob Bradley | Publicist and Realtor

Over time many will face the true value of time head-on, and realize that perhaps the amount of wide-open time available in their late teens and early twenties begins to tighten. This is completely normal, and for someone like myself who is driven but also has a family and kids figuring out that work life balance situation was critical. For those who have their own business, freelance or even work from home, it has been a year to really figure out that game plan to maximize time dedicated to work, creativity and everything else that is valuable (family, leisure, vacations etc). Over the last 20 years of my life, I have transitioned from being a college grad to becoming a full-time touring musician, to then returning to working in different types of jobs and freelance roles. As my lifestyle changed, and music became more of a hobby, I realized the only way to stay sane was to “time block” my activities to the best of my ability. This didn’t mean necessarily living life hour by hour on schedule, but more-so being mindful and scheduling the most important things, without compromise or deviation from the plan. Read more>>

Matthew Jared | Singer-Songwriter/Recording Artist

We are all experiencing a such a unique moment in history right now. So many people are having to be creative with how they manage their time and we’re all doing things differently. There is no exception with being a creative. I’ll say for me, the pandemic has actually allowed me to spend more time writing and creating at home than ever before, whereas prior, there was more time and opportunity to socialize and go out. This temporary change in balance I’ve found to be beneficial in my case. I’ve released new music, filmed promo videos, focused on marketing campaigns for my music, and got my first songwriting placement on television. That being said, I haven’t neglected my social life because, who are we without the people who support us the most in life? Again, socially there’s been a lot of Zoom and Facetime calls –even putting them as reoccurring calendar invites. It’s important to maintain our sense of self even for our ability to be creative or run our individual businesses. Read more>>

Melissa Stewardson | Owner of Melissa Stewardson Photography|

My work life balance has definitely changed over time. When I first started my business in 2012, my daughters were so young, one year and three years old. So I had to focus most of my time of them. One of my biggest intensions for choosing photography as a career path was so I would have the flexibility to be present for my kids. During those first couple of years that Melissa Stewardson Photography was operating, I was building my business slowly so I wasn’t extremely busy. I would work when my kids napped, after they went to sleep, during pre-school hours, whenever I could find some time. As the years went on and my business became successful and especially busy in the fall season it became harder to to keep that work-life balance. As a working mom you just have to find some pockets of time to get the work done. I hired babysitters and at one point had a sweet lady who would pick my kids up from school and spend a couple hours with them outside my home a couple days a week. My husband was also helpful when he was home from work. Read more>>

Andrew Thompson | Sports Performance/Fitness/Movement Specialist

My work/life balance is a delicate pendulum. I have a 5 day work week rule. I make sure not to work on weekends. This allows me 2 full days off to do the things that I love to do. During the week, I will bust my ass as much as possible to make sure that I stay on top of the current. Sometimes I’m lucky to have a few months where my work eases up, and I’ll have one or two days during the week that are a little lighter than the others, and it allows me some time to get outside and recharge. When I get these short periods of lighter days, I get to work on my hobbies, and other skills I would like to develop. Since the beginning of my business, (which is about 13 years old now) my work schedule has fluctuated from heavy to light, back to heavy, and now I’d like to consider it medium. I find myself rolling with the punches, pivoting with the ebb and flow of the business needs. During this pandemic, I feel that I’ve really needed to be present, and put a great deal of energy into making sure that we stay afloat. Read more>>

Karen Roberts | CEO & Designer

Prior to 2020, I just went hard from the time my feet hit the floor until I gassed out about midnight. This year brought in to focus the extreme need for balance in these areas due to the effects of the pandemic and the many issues we’ve confronted this summer. It’s an interesting dynamic since on the one hand as an entrepreneur, I expect to be grinding it out (daily) to get Hautebutch out there, it’s imperative that I keep myself fit for the work and I get that through a balance of sorts. I’ve incorporated a few things to assist me in that quest, for example – I’ll work on Hautebutch tasks for 2 hours, take a break to play with my cat Molly, make a fun phone call and then back to the grind. After the next couple hours work, I may do some work on our tiny house we’re building. All of it, including my work brings me joy! The calls, pings etc continue but I leave my gadgets in a different room while I take those few minutes. When I first began this practice, I felt guilty as though I was taking time away from the company- this was old thinking. Read more>>

Melanie Baker | Sugar Artist

My work balance has drastically changed over the last 9 months. Covid had flipped our lives around on our heads. I have three children in elementary school that are now home 100% of the time. I have to balance children, school, being a dental hygienist 2 days a week as well as cake! I’ve learned to micromanage my time even more than ever! I am also a Girl Scout leader for the past 6/7 years! I try and balance my life so there is peace. It’s very difficult with Covid and limited activity but we have managed, how I don’t KNOW. Read more>>

Mish Barber-Way | Producer and Writer

My husband and I both run our own businesses and we have a young child with another on the way so a work life balance is really important. We are lucky enough to have struck a balance in our parenting, domestic, and financial duties so that we each get to be parent and breadwinner. My husband runs his own custom furniture and metal fabrication company called Barber Fabrication, and I am a producer and writer for a popular true crime podcast. In the last year we have tried to work out the kinks of the ebb and flow in our work life so that we each get to play full time parent at some point while the other takes over with work. When his work slows down, then mine usually picks up and I will take on extra freelance writing jobs while he gets to be full time dad, and visa versa. We try to prioritize family time as much as possible because that is what is most important. We both feel very lucky to live how we do. Read more>>

Inbal Claudio | Entrepreneur

When I started GOLDWICK, I was single and didn’t have any kids. Over the last 3 years, I got married, moved across the country, had a baby and have one more on the way. I used to eat, sleep and breath GOLDWICK, but as my life changed, I had to alter how I did business as well. I had to cut down on trade shows that would take me away from home for more than a day, I could only make candles when my husband was home, or when my daughter was napping or down for the night, and I couldn’t be as active on social media throughout the day. I’ve learned how to adjust my business to a more online-based company, and having less time for the business made me more efficient with the time I did have. Read more>>

Machel Morgan | Support Specialist & Graphic Designer & Real Estate Investor

I have been a single mom since my youngest daughter was 3 years old, my twin sons were 4, and my oldest son was 5 years old. Over the years it has been a challenge to have a work-life balance. In order to secure my family’s sense of financial freedom, I worked as a licensed mortgage Broker. Though my position was lucrative, it didn’t allow for quality time with my family. I, therefore, decided to align my work with my passion for art and became an instructor for Mission Renaissance Fine Art Studios. Though I enjoyed the financial benefits of working as a mortgage broker, I didn’t want school systems and nannies to be the primary influence in my children’s upbringing. As an instructor with Mission Renaissance, I was able to have a more flexible work schedule. Thankfully, the company had fine art studios located all across the southland. During the summer and on weekends, I would travel to different store locations promoting new studios. Read more>>

Jordan LoGiudice | Artist & Graphic Designer

My work life balance has evolved so much over the years. Thankfully, I believe I am much better off this time compared to when I last did an interview. A blend of circumstances within the past year, and learning about how I work best has given me the courage I needed to take a small step back from my full time job. I had to learn to “be okay” with receiving less income from that job, knowing that little bit of loss would become motivation to create new products. More importantly, I accepted the fact that I need more than just a day or two to get my head into the right head space in order to “switch gears” into the artsy part of my life. I sometimes just need a day to sit, plan, and dream; and that’s okay. That was really hard for me to accept because I held a higher standard for myself and my work habits. Yet, I realized that I had to admit defeat so I could move on in a healthy way, a way that allows me to work freely and accomplish small goals one day at a time. And I think that concept is really the crux of the whole thing— small goals. I think it’s easy to forget that balance isn’t just about a balance of time, but it’s about a mental/relational balance too. Read more>>

Kacie Hill | Acupuncturist, Esthetician, Holistic Health Practitioner

n 8th grade, I designed a 10 year plan and have had one ever since. I’ve always been goal-oriented and moved to California by myself from a tiny, rural town in Wisconsin shortly after High School graduation with a dream of becoming a dermatologist. Although that end-goal shifted from Western to Eastern medicine (Chinese Medicine/Acupuncture) over the years, I’ve always been a hard worker and priding myself in accomplishing my goals and doing the best job possible. I’ve managed spas, worked as an esthetician for nearly 10 years while finishing my undergrad and Master’s program and now I have had my own acupuncture business for the past 3 years. In the past, when working for someone else it was easier to shut off the business brain as I “left the building”. However, now that I’m my own boss, the work-life balance becomes much more of a tricky balancing act. I would speculate that with nearly any new business, the first few years require the most blood, sweat and tears of time and dedication. Read more>>

Ellie Araiza | Actor & Strength Instructor

I grew up with two parents who were essentially workaholics and how it made me feel as a child really stuck with me. It made me want to be someone who knows how to strike a better balance between work and play. Someone who knows how to work hard, but also knows when and how to walk away and enjoy downtime, to do the things on my bucket list, and to be present enough to spend quality time with loved ones. Now, I’d be lying if I said I don’t lean toward the workaholic mode. I tend to take on way too much and I’m always juggling a variety of projects. I work primarily as a professional actor and VoiceOver artist. When I’m not juggling auditions for everything from commercials to tv, to radio and animation, I’m often taking care of administrative duties, from logging checks, to marketing, to deciding what class or workshop to sign up for next. On top of that, though I’m extraordinarily lucky to make most of my living as an actor, I do have a steady-paycheck-day-job as a yoga and strength instructor. Now with Covid-19 I train my clients virtually and deal with planning their workouts, scheduling and continuing my education as a fitness professional. Read more>>

Tom Goss | Singer, Songwriter, Recording Artist

I don’t know how to balance. I’m a workaholic. Fortunately for me, 2020 has stripped most of my work away from me. I’m grateful for the opportunity to approach my life, and art, in a much more balanced way. I’ve learned to enjoy bike rides, walks, and sitting at home with my husband in a way I couldn’t have understood in 2019. Read more>>

Roxanne + Bradley Reitler | Co-Founders

Owning a business means making a lot of personal sacrifices. When we first started, it wasn’t uncommon to work from the moment we woke up until the moment we went to bed. For us, that just seemed like the normal thing to do in order to get this business off the ground. As we grew, we were slowly able to find more balance in our lives. When we compare where we are today with where we were when we started, we are happy. We now take a day off for ourselves, which we did not do two years back. Read more>>

Beks Opperman | Brand Director

Because all my previous work experience was shift work (coffee shops, bagel shop, then a career in healthcare), I had also just clocked in and out when scheduled. I’d never had to choose when I started or stopped work. This did not serve me well when I first started my own business because I just didn’t know when to stop working. I’d work as soon as I woke up and late into the evening. It many years and a serious bout of burnout to teach me the lesson I needed: that I can’t do good, effective work if I’m exhausted. So with the help of a great therapist, I started building in more structure to my working hours. Nowadays I used calendars and time blocking to have clearing defined beginnings and endings to work hours, and while I do work fewer hours than I did before, my worn hours are noticeably more productive. And I’m generally calmer, happier, and more engaged with my work than I’ve ever been before. Read more>>

Kerry Lambourne | Founder & Designer

I would say that since having started my business, RainbowPot Products, I have always had a well managed balance. I don’t set traditional goals or, time frames to start or complete tasks. I would say that my daily aim is to satisfy a need to work hard within myself and that shows in my business. If i know for example I have to get something done because when I look ahead there wont be other convenient time for it, I will push through to get it done. That’s just how I am. I would rather get a products made in a short space of time, photograph, run admin tasks, package & post to a customer in order to impress them with the speed of my service than let it sit on a ‘To Do List’ for longer than a week. Having said that, it doesnt really matter to me whether I start my day at 6:30am or work later than 9:30pm. Not to say those are my working hours, just meaning that if Im up to the task at that particular time and I feel happy getting on with it, I will. At the end of the day, noone is going to push you like yourself, so why not get niggles out of your mind in the present moment by completing a task. Read more>>

Nancy Kay Turner | Visual Artist and Art Critic

Work balance. How has your balance changed over time? And How do you think about balance. In art historical lore, the artist is a solitary figure obsessional, narcissistic loner, often not only on the verge of poverty but also insanity (okay except for Monet).As a young artist, this unflattering image did not appeal to me and, thankfully California, the state I adopted, had a solid tradition of teaching artists to emulate. In 1979, I scored a coup. and. moved from San Diego to Los Angeles where I applied for and got two jobs and the two- story carriage house/studio of an artist who left for Rome. One job was an Adjunct painting position at Glendale College (I stayed 27 years) and the other was at Loyola High School, where I taught a myriad of subjects and eventually instituted an Advanced Placement program (I was there 36 years). Arlene Raven (who was a founder of The Woman’s Building) and a fabulous art critic lived in the front house. We became fast friends and she curated me into some excellent shows and introduced me to many terrific artists. Read more>>

Lilian Hsyu | Event + Wedding Planner

I didn’t put much thought into work life balance until I had my kid (it just wasn’t an issue for me until then). No matter what anyone tells you, you’re just not prepared for the 180 your life takes when you have kids. And the transition as an entrepreneur was tough for me because you dictate your own schedule (which usually is a great thing for me…but in this case, I didn’t know how to best utilize the little time I had)! A month and a half after my son was born, I flew to Italy to work on a destination wedding. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, but boy was it challenging. Leaving a newborn at home, pumping every 3 hours in a foreign country – it was insane! I never felt so frazzled in my life, and it felt like I was being pulled in a million directions. I knew I had to figure out this work life balance equation before I lost it. Over time, I came to realize that I couldn’t excel at my job OR at being a mom if I tried to do it all at once. I needed to dedicate and block out time to focus on each. Read more>>

Jacquelin Nagel | Artist & Floral Designer

Work life balance has always been a tricky spot for me. If I’m not working enough I can get myself into a slump. And if I’m working too much, I can feel overwhelmed and too busy to truly be creative, which also gets me in a slump. I’ve found that I am happiest working on several different creative projects at once, allowing me to always have fresh eyes on the project I’m focusing on that day. The different projects usually include a mix of one large painting that will usually take me a couple months to complete, a smaller more fast paced collage or drawing, and fulfilling dried floral orders or some type of floral experiment. Work life balance has been weird this year, as the “life” part in Los Angeles has been pretty non-existent. But I always feel my mind is working artistically to some degree. My “off” days inspire me and help me to be a better artist/designer during my studio days. I really just try to listen to myself and my emotions to give myself what I need in order to not burn out in any area. For example, I have pretty much been working on large paintings back to back since 2016 and I could feel myself starting to burn out. Read more>>

Katie Moore | Nonprofit Founder

When I first started my nonprofit 7yrs ago I had no sense of balance. All I thought about is if I’m not doing something for the nonprofit or thinking about the nonprofit, no one is. This really caused a glitch in personal relationships. Over time I have realized that unless I am able to provide myself with personal space and personal time I will not be 100% in anything I do. I’m blessed to have a team alongside me that I can trust to keep the nonprofit going when I need to take some me time. I have since started leaving my work computer at work, rather than taking it home; taking some time in the morning to visit my happy place with my dog, the beach, and practicing being more present with family and friends. Balance is so vital to a persons overall health. Read more>>

Carol Miltimore | Founder and CEO of Seek Collective

The idea of work life balance is something I think about on an almost daily basis. Having your own business is often compared to having a baby, which I agree with. It is always on your mind on some level and there is always more to be done with it. However, I have learned over the years to not let it overtake my life in unhealthy ways. In the first few years of the business I let myself be consumed with work and it left me utterly burnt out. It was about two years ago when I realized how living like this was not good for me personally and also not good for my business. Since then I’ve been striving to make sure I take more regular breaks and that I have at least part of the weekend to unplug from the computer and my phone. I now see that some of my best ideas for the business come when I’m doing something that gives me perspective, such as on a hike alone or gardening. Read more>>

Ching Ching Cheng | Art Educator/ Artist

It is definitely not an easy task for me to balance life with two little children and work! It changes every year and I have learned to go with the flow. Instead of trying to keep the same schedules for my work, I create time in between busy life with kids, and also adapt new medium for making art according to the space and time I have. Read more>>

Somsara Rielly | Artist & Creative Director

This “work/life balance” business was such a popular topic of discussion a few years ago. There were so many articles – especially geared towards women – telling us how to achieve it. In the past, I tried as much as possible to keep my work and personal life separate – to have a delineation between “studio time” and “home time.” I would tell myself, “Don’t talk about clients, don’t talk about work over dinner, don’t think about work when you are relaxing with your husband or playing with your kid.” As a creative, it’s so hard to determine where “work” ends and “life” begins. There’s so much overlap how are they separate? It’s not as if one turns off their creative brain at 6pm and switches to “now life begins!” Creating IS my life, it’s where my unconscious brain goes whether I want it to or not, so trying to keep them separate was a fool’s errand. Once you start a family, this whole idea became even more impossible. Read more>>

Talia Dekel | Product Photographer

Balancing work and my personal life has always been a challenge. I work full-time as an in-house photographer in addition to doing freelance work on the weekends. I am able to balance it all by being very selective about which weekends I choose to shoot. Additionally, I have recently decided to outsource my retouching for freelance projects so that I do not become too overwhelmed. Having a good balance is extremely important to my creative process. I define success by how happy I am and if all I am doing is overworking myself, I am not able to take the time to be inspired by the little things in life that I enjoy. Read more>>

Moon Shavit | Writer & Actress

I’m still figuring that one out. Today I feel like the only way to navigate work life balance is to have no boundaries. That might seem depressing, but I get a lot of relief from that attitude. When I work, I spend a lot of time in a limbo zone, which is neither strictly work nor life. It’s somewhere in between. I try to build characters in that limbo when I’m acting and writing. When I’m acting, I spend a lot of time thinking about the character. Then at some point I start thinking like the character in my personal life, organically. As a writer (in the old days!) I could go to a cafe and work on my laptop and feel like a grown up with a dayjob. After I finish writing, I can close my laptop and walk away. However, the truth is that even when I’m not writing, I’m thinking about work all the time. I feel like our generation will have to face the fact that professions in general are moving away from a strict 9 to 5. Rather than being upset with my work life balance (or lack of balance), I’ve had the great joy to do something that I love, so that I don’t always mind when work encroaches on my personal life. Read more>>

Nicole Goux | Cartoonist & Illustrator

This is something I am still figuring out. For the last few years, trying to build up my career and create content, it’s really been basically all work all the time. Often I work 14 hour days including weekends, and before I was able to draw full time, I was working a part time job and then coming home to draw at night. I saw very little friends, didn’t exercise enough, and it was a treat when I actually cooked myself some dinner (this is still true!). But during this years’ quarantine I reached a breaking point, possibly because I haven’t even had the outlet of seeing friends at comic conventions, which is my usual time to get out but really still counts as work. I’ve realized I really need to invest in hobbies and activities that are not just making work. People always say that art is not really work if you love to do it, but this is completely untrue. Making work, especially when you’re working on the same project for a year or more, can be just as exhausting and draining as any 9 to 5. Yes I get to make my own schedule, yes I love what I do, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t taxing. Read more>>

Megan Pelto | Freelance Illustrator

Work life balance has become one of the most important things to me in my career. As a freelance artist, it is easy to feel like you always need to be working or promoting yourself. But breaks from work as well as time off make me a better artist and more excited for every new job. When I first started working as a freelance illustrator I worked a lot but made my own hours, whereas when I transitioned to my first full-time job I usually didn’t get home till around 8pm. That schedule was hard because my only free time was after dark and when I had my least energy. I realized I need an equal balance of work and free time to do my best work. I value my work, my free time, time outdoors, and time with family and friends, so it became my goal to strive for that more equal balance. In my career as a freelance illustrator I feel lucky that I have more flexibility over my time and when I work and prioritize that. I hope to continue to always have that balance of art, work, and life. Read more>>

Kyra Quinones | Speech-Language Pathologist

Lately, I’ve been looking at my life as a delicious apple pie. Each of us has our own pie divided into various slices representing the different responsibilities each of us have. The slices that make up my life include work, kids, partner, friends, family, hobbies, community, faith, and health. When I first started my business four years ago, about two-thirds of my pie was all about work. The other third of that pie was focused on everything else. Those slices were not equal, and it took me quite a while to figure that out. I remember sitting in my car in 2018, pregnant, driving to a client located on the opposite side of Los Angeles, when I suddenly felt a wave of anxiety come over me. I was stretching myself too thin from building my business, caring for my patients, and neglecting some significant things in my life. I put so much pressure on myself to succeed while not giving myself credit for all of the hard work I put in or even the goals I’ve already achieved. Having my own child made me realize that to have a successful work-life balance, you need to set real boundaries, and more importantly, you need to be kind to yourself. Read more>>

Diane H. Heggen | Massage Therapist

This is a great question, especially in 2020. Nothing like lockdown to help one focus on work/life balance! I used to work crazy hours in the entertainment industry. Any spare time I had was spent caring for my daughters, so I went to massage school thinking it would be a better part time career, but I just ended up doing both for ten years. Plus I volunteered for everything, falling into Supermom syndrome to the detriment of my self care. I had become addicted to being Busy as a way of avoiding my feelings. I left entertainment seven years ago to focus on my massage and bodywork career while raising my girls. We went through some tough times, but eventually found our groove. I started making lists about what’s important to me, learned to say no, and did my best to make sure others know what I am available for and when and then sticking to it. I call it a practice and every day I endeavor to do better. This year gave me a nice chunk of time to get a solid meditation/mindfulness practice going and it has really paid off. Read more>>