A host of factors, developments, and dynamics have made most industries more competitive than ever.  As a result so many of us wonder whether there is still such a thing as work-life balance. We reached out to the community to hear perspectives on finding the right balance.

Laura Gagliardi | Freelance Writer & Contemporary Polymath

Balance? What balance? Oh wait, do you mean when everything works smoothly and there’s no stress whatsoever, people you deal with on a daily basis are 50% helpful and proactive and the rest is inversely proportional evening things out? Yeah no, that does not exist, but I got my own balance though, which means that despite then ups and downs and the sudden changes of plan, the boat keeps sailing and I’m going with the flow. Therefore balance for me and my business means to simply keep moving forward. Covid-19 has taken a lot of people I know out of balance, for instance, because they used to have a routine, to follow a schedule, to repeat the same ritual being super effective, profitable and successful, and then bam, the world has changed both inside and, out and it was sad to witness them hesitate and tremble on a daily basis. Read more>>

Gregory Kasunich | Filmmaker

When working in a creative profession the division between work and life is oftentimes non-existent. As a writer and filmmaker, most of my time is spent working out of my home office, taking calls, writing, revising, scheduling meetings, researching, designing pitch decks, editing, and on and on, so it is very easy to let those activities seep into the rest of my routine. Like many high-demand professions that require a lot of time, discipline, and constant learning, the job will take what you give it, and for the better part of my career, I had been giving the job as much as I possibly could. Over the last few years, although I had been productive, making films, writing, touring film festivals, and booking photo-sessions, I began to notice I was sacrificing aspects of my life that didn’t seem as important. Read more>>

Jaimi Alexander | Myself

My work life balance has changed her medically all the time. We have a habit of thinking that the harder we work and the more hours we put in the more we will get out of it. I used to stay up very very late at night and worked tirelessly and endlessly sometimes without even eating because I believed in what I was doing so much I kind of became obsessed with it. As much as I give myself a pat on the back for being on fire and present I absolutely burned out. Nowadays I have no problem taking a day off as rest is productive. Back in the day I would have judged myself and considered myself lazy just for taking some time off. That is an unhealthy culture. With the rest, My work life balance has changed determined to sleep all the time. Read more>>

Wesley Sanchez | Video Editor & Muralist

In recent years I have come to understand how important it is to maintain a healthy work life balance. It’s very easy for me to get caught up with work and projects, and takes a conscious effort for me to make sure I take time for myself. It’s important to set boundaries, especially when working from home. It’s almost expected of me to be on call at all times of the day, but I generally try to step away from emails and any additional edits/notes that may come through in the evening. This is something that I’ve had to learn and adopt. At the beginning of my career, I was quick to push myself as far as I needed to go in order to get the job done. I would stay up late, wake up early, and work essentially from when I woke up until I went to sleep. The problem I faced after pushing so hard for too long was severe burnout. Read more>>

Ino Yang Popper | Director of Photography

Work-life balance has always been a tricky task for all of us. Many of us either have not been paying attention, or we convince ourselves that we did the best we could. The truth is, we didn’t. So who are we fooling here? During the first year I spent at the American Film Institute in the cinematography program, my work-life balance was terrible, I had no life at all, and I was miserable. I re-adjusted myself during the second year and felt so much more alive and productive. My biggest excuse was that I believed I was supposed to be like that because everyone told me to forget about family and friends, or any life at all once you are in the program. So I thought the more miserable I became, the more I must have been working hard and headed in the right direction. Read more>>

Sara Acevedo | Wardrobe Stylist

When I first started styling, I was on the phone and working 24/7 and I think that’s appropriate when you’re trying to break into something; you can’t approach it as a hobby. In order to get over barriers, you’ve got to operate at a certain speed. But once you’ve grooved in, so to speak, you can’t really continue to do that on a forever basis. It’s not healthy mentally or spiritually. So I have become a more whole person after many years of hard work. I think over time you learn which jobs are worth it and who are the right clients for you, etc. and things become easier. If that isn’t happening, you need to find out what you’re doing wrong and learn how to fix it, you should be ascending and becoming more competent through experience. Read more>>

Katie Shapiro | Photographer

My work life balance has changed dramatically since having my two boys aged 2 1/2 and 1. I have a harder time finding the mental space it takes to produce artwork let alone the actual studio time. It’s made me work faster, and in spurts. Now when I want to work in the studio I need to ask for help with the kids so I can go in there where as before I could work at my will whenever I wanted to. I have part time help so that allows me to go to the studio during those hours. Read more>>