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.

Lina Dion-inglis | Joy Coach & Artist

For me, work life balance seems to be a bit of an illusion, and maybe a trap we get into. When we say “balance” it makes it seem like all the areas in our life have an equal amount of attention or space. And maybe that’s just the Libra in me, wanting to think of balance that way. I’ve come to reframe it by thinking of it as creating harmony in my life. It ebbs and flows depending on what is important to me… I also have ADHD, so it depends on what I am curious about and really want to put my attention on and into. I’ve started to allow myself to think of it in fractals… sometimes I will have a lot of time and attention put on my art, sometimes it is my business. I have also learned through my adult experiences in corporate (tech) America, that prioritizing mySelf and my self-care, then my family has me feel centered and grounded. Read more>>

Salome Breziner | Director/Producer

Over time, my work-life balance has evolved significantly as my career has progressed and my responsibilities have expanded. Early in my career, while directing and producing my first feature films like “Tollbooth” (1994) and “An Occasional Hell” (1996), the demands were intense, and the hours were long. It was a period of establishing myself, and I had to invest a significant amount of time and energy into my projects, often at the expense of personal time and balance. At that point in my life, I did not have children so I could devote myself mostly to work work work! This was good for my career but not so great for my health! I feel like I was always on the go and rather burnt out yet determined to make my mark. Read more>>

Anna Davis | Animator and writer

I was never someone who worked for hours and hours on something and I never liked to pull all nighters but I was the type to get lost in my own ideas. I think in the past if I had an idea that’s all that would occupy my mind to the point where it would be the only thing I would want to work on, which had it’s effects on my school life at times. I learned over time that my art is at its best when I make time to actually live my life and focus on other things. I’m still obsessed with my ideas and art but I felt like if I wasn’t focused on my art all the time I wasn’t a “real artist” which in the end made me start feeling like doing art was a chore, I didn’t want that so I then I focused on making room for a life outside of art and that’s when I noticed that doing that made it easier to draw inspiration from my life. I think being an animator and being in that field I noticed that a lot of us tend to over work ourselves and not notice until it’s to late, mainly because we’re so eager to improve and forget that improvement is slow and can’t be forced. I also think you can’t force yourself to love your art all the time and creating balance is also creating the space to be frustrated with your art and then also to love it later. Read more>>

Bibi Lucille | Actress and Writer

Work life balance is such an important thing to master and will come with time. In my late teens, I felt that work was God and that doing anything besides it meant I didn’t deserve success. As I fell into my twenties, I started to realise that memories with friends and family was in fact incredibly important, and that I deserved success even when I was resting. The idea of giving yourself over completely to your work is unrealistic and unhealthy. You start to lose sight of what’s really important which is connection, family and community. Read more>>

Alford Wayman | Potter & Manufacturing Technician

There is no balance. It’s just life. When creating, it can feel like a race against time. When creating after or before work, it can feel even more urgent. You might set up a timer or an alarm to finish before you need to leave for the job. The race against time and to manage work, creating, and life might become an art form itself. It’s also important to know the difference between a hobby, job, career, and vocation. Both Elizabeth Gilbert and Seth Godin had some great ideas on this topic that influenced my thinking on work life balance. Read more>>

Lily Malm | Screenwriter

I was pretty naive when I first moved to Los Angeles. I thought I’d be able to juggle screenwriting, friendships, romance, networking, and someday motherhood all at once – but it’s incredibly challenging! Some things have simply had to take the backseat. While I admire all the hard-working mothers in the film industry, I find myself wondering if I’ll join their team. My aspirations are instead to become what J.D Vance would call a “childless cat lady.” Read more>>

Julius Eulberg | an alchemist’s view on life

For me work and life is no different. I love what I do -so it really is a flow. from space. to time and vice versa. Sometimes I am so excited for the next time in anticipation of a new lab samples to test a new product or ingredients that I can hardly fall asleep, I think this is like a child when christmas is coming. Its my natural state. 🙂 Read more>>

Kira Von Heuer | Artist | Curator | Art Advisor

For most of my life, my pendulum swung toward the belief that work came before everything else. There was almost a high that I got from it, but it was fleeting. I was so wrapped up in building my company, and although it was exhilarating, I didn’t realize at the time that so many other facets of who I was wasn’t being nurtured. A shift in perspective was key—when I came out on the other side, I came to terms with the fact that my artistic interests were more present than my entrepreneurial ones. Once that awakening occurred, it was no longer about work/life balance; it became about determining who or what is nourishing what. What worlds, experiences, rituals, curiosities, and relationships can I weave into my creativity and imagination, so that I might offer art, designs, and curatorial work that resonate with and enrich the lives of others. Read more>>

Christian Labertew | Actor, Auctioneer, Athletic Trainer

A professor of mine started one of our lectures with: “Many of you came here to be actors, and your goal is to find success in this profession. In my life and career in the arts, I have learned this: You can have it all, just not all at once.” My classmates and I quote this adage back to this day. To me, it’s a reminder to have respect and understanding of where my priorities lie. I won’t reach my full potential by allocating 20% of my attention to 5 different focuses. That said, I’m a MUCH happier person living a balanced and well-rounded life. Finding this balance is an ever-evolving tightrope walk. Read more>>

 Landon Yost | Film Director & Photographer

When I first started working in the film / photography industry I was 19 and living in New York City. My mentality was say “Yes!” to every job that came my way, so I worked myself ragged. That being said, I was still finding time to socialize. I was burning the candle at both ends. After 7 years of nonstop work / play, it took the pandemic and a healthy relationship to realize I could still be highly productive and build time into my life for myself and the things that really matter. But that balance is always in-flux and I’m hoping to improve it everyday. Read more>>

Erika Oba | Musician (Piano/Flute), Composer, and Educator

As a creative freelancer, work life balance is a constant challenge! When I was younger and first starting out in my career as a musician, I felt a lot of pressure to say yes to every possible opportunity. This lead to a lot of work, but also constantly feeling burned out. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve worked on holding better boundaries and saying no to more things. In terms of my ideal balance, I’d like to have enough capacity outside of my working life to be able to show up for my friends, family, and community. Read more>>

Presley Aronson

Trying to juggle and balance my music career, company, and personal life can definitely be a struggle, especially in the development stage. In addition to giving your all to your career and or business, Taking care of yourself and having a personal life is a critical part of success. We choose how we spend our time every day so schedule time for you to exercise, time to spend with family, and time to socialize with friends. Take it from me I know we can all get caught up in chasing our dreams but don’t miss out on experiences in life. Read more>>

Rachele Brooke Smith (Palafox)

My work life balance has changed dramatically since I was younger.

I used to obsess over work and was so driven to prove myself that I was constantly working and made very little time for friends or family.

I had to work really hard to heal some childhood wounds that I had that made me think that if I didn’t achieve massive success on a regular basis that I wasn’t worthy of love. Read more>>

Alyssa Cecchi

Over the years entering into my adulthood, I’ve realized there’s no easy way to obtain an easy work life balance without trial and error. At 18 I moved from New York to California for a career and education in film. I got a job and especially started to work towards my education. Now that I’m 21, I can say I’m still working towards balancing my work life because I genuinely enjoy being busy. I feel like my attention is being pulled in so many directions but I do believe they benefit me. I’ll learn to take a step back so I can prioritize my needs over my wants. Read more>>

lindsey francis

I have never been someone who overworks! I am a hairdresser (that may be an outdated title but I’ve never used hairstylist) and an artist. I currently work at Lucas Salon four days a week and I paint/create the other days. I like to have time and space to do both and to do nothing! Doing nothing is so vital to me. Read more>>

Chile Verde

When I first started in the marketing industry over 12 years ago, work-life balance was quite a challenge. I dedicated countless hours to my work, driven by passion and a desire to excel. However, as I founded and grew Dream agency, my perspective on balance evolved. Initially, the demands of establishing Dream agency blurred the lines between work and personal life. Over time, I learned the importance of delegating tasks and trusting my team. This allowed me to maintain a healthier balance. Read more>>

Barbora Samieian

The single most important contributing factor to scaling our businesses has been growing our family in tandem with growing the business. This has given me the confidence to focus on the big picture, expanding my perspective of what truly matters, and lean on support in both my personal and professional lives. Going to work gives me great joy and energy, fuels my creativity, and, in turn, makes me a better parent. Having children has given me perspective. As passionate and ambitious as I am, I’m grateful to have healthy kids who demand my presence. Nothing makes you focus and be ‘in the moment’ like being at a playground with four kids running in four different directions. It’s not always easy to unplug as an entrepreneur, but I try my best, as they are growing up too fast. Read more>>

 Kohl Marzetta

My work life balance has changed quite a bit since I have chosen to start taking acting seriously. I used to have a ton of time on my hands that would end up going to playing video games, mindless scrolling, or procrastinating in every way possible. Now that I’ve grown up a bit and have been given the chance to take a step back I found use for that time. I started putting more focus into my craft(s). I spend more time working on my characters, writing scripts, writing songs, studying, reading, and just allowing myself to work harder and chase that dream that I’m after. I started to take away the little things I didn’t really need. I started playing video games a whole lot less, I don’t go out as often, I’ve put time limits on my devices, and I’ve made a promise to myself that I don’t let distractions like that get in the way. I think this balance is great for me, because I love what I do and that’s the life I want to live. I just have to work for it. Read more>>

Zerui Qin

Before I started working at Unreal Imagine, my work-life balance was very flexible. As a freelance writer, I was able to work whenever suited me the best. This was especially true during COVID-19, when I completed a feature film script in my free time, which did well on the award circuits. Read more>>

 Jack Vento

I’ve worked in the video/film production sphere for about five years now. Work-life balance is at the forefront of my mind when I’m looking for work and thinking about my long-term career trajectory. While living in the Midwest, I started in commercial studios working 9-5, moved into local news working second shift weekdays and weekends, and now in LA, I’m working on gig/project-based television production that is very seasonal and sees me working 12-14 hour days throughout the year. All that to say, for the last few years, my work-life balance has been anything but consistent. Read more>>

Ophelia Carrillo

I am a full-time mom, managing an MMA gym, all while trying to make myself known in the makeup artist industry. Being a mother, I feel like we all have to make that emotional sacrifice when wanting to invest in ourselves which in turn takes away from time with our families. Managing my time can seem impossible at moments but I have an amazing husband and family that has truly supported me every step of the way. I take every day with whatever opportunity it has to give me. Whether one day I have more time to create content or update my kit, to some days just being able to post a quick picture of my work knowing I have at least put something out there to continue promoting myself. Read more>>

Lessie Vonner

At the start of my journey, I was more obsessed with proving myself and constantly worried about whether I would be good enough to make it. The lack of representation and the short mindedness of a few music teachers in my past unfortunately helped contribute to this mindset. This focus on validation often threw my work-life balance off, as I tended to dedicate every waking moment to practice, performance, and networking. Over time, I came to realize that I was always good enough and worthy of my dreams and successes – that my worth wasn’t tied to external approval. This shift in mindset allowed me to embrace a more balanced approach to life, inside and outside of music. I began to explore and invest in other interests and facets of what make me whole, enriching my creativity as well as my well-being. Now, I view balance as an essential part of my artistic growth, merging both my professional and personal lives in harmony. Embracing this has not only enhanced my music but has also deepened my sense of fulfillment. Read more>>