What’s the right balance between work and non-work time? The traditional 9-5 has slowly disappeared with the emails and zoom and texting going far beyond traditional business hours. We asked members of our community to share with us how they think about work-life balance.

Lily Truong | Mental Health Counselor & Healing Arts Practitioner

My concept of balance has evolved over time, shaped by the various industries I’ve worked in. In entertainment and marketing, balance was practically nonexistent. But through my own healing, personal growth, and becoming a therapist, my understanding and practice of it have deepened. Losing some of the most important people in my life taught me to value time, energy, and ultimately myself in new ways. Connecting with my grief and reflecting on my lifelong relationship with death, has guided me to live with greater love and intention. Read more>>

Lauren Way | Model & Entrepreneur

As a model and entrepreneur with a focus on marketing, maintaining a work-life balance has always been crucial for me, though it has evolved significantly over time. Early in my career, I was heavily focused on building my brand and seizing every opportunity, which often meant long hours and frequent travel with little downtime. However, as I’ve grown both professionally and personally, I’ve learned the importance of setting boundaries and prioritizing my well-being. Read more>>

Xiaomeng Zhang | Illustrator

I think the balance between life and work is very delicate. I don’t think a fixed pattern can bring permanent efficiency or a peaceful life. The balance between my life and work is constantly changing, which means that every day brings me different surprises. I need this kind of stimulation to bring me better creativity. Read more>>

Jackie Luu | Stuffed Ice Cream Owner

Starting and running a business is definitely no easy task and it takes a lot of time. In the beginning, I was at the store for 2 years, 7 days a week. However, the goal is of course to find a way to balance out the free time you get and I feel like thats only possible with something of your own. Nowadays, my total work week hours might add up to around 20 hours, although that may be split with a few hours all 7 days of the week sometimes. Read more>>

Garth Trinidad | DJ, Curator

By my late 20’s I was married with children and had established a fantastic career trajectory as a creative. There was no balance and I wasn’t thinking about the balance. If the phrase work life balance was spoken around the campfire back then, I didn’t pay it any mind. I was young, healthy, hungry to create something special, and above all responsible for taking care of a family. By my late 30’s, the nonstop grind took its toll. Read more>>

Daniel Nguyen | Editorial Photographer

Have you grown up in an asian household or know someone who grew up in an asian household? The work life balance doesn’t quite exist haha. I grew up watching my parents constantly grind to take care of the family, and that was what I was exposed to. Read more>>

Abby Wittstadt | Yoga instructor and Yoga Mat Brand Owner

Work-life balance is incredibly important to me. There’s so much I want to accomplish in a day, but with limited time, I’ve learned that building a strong foundation is key to achieving success. For me, that foundation is my body and mind. If I’m not taking care of those, I won’t be able to show up fully for my brands or the tasks I set out to do each day. Read more>>

Elena Vision Mafia | designer, entrepreneur

For me, balance is the most important element of my life. I’ve come to realize that an imbalance between work and rest, discipline and laziness, solitude and social interaction leads to a sense of unhappiness, and negatively impacts both my physical and mental well-being. For me, balance is the key to happiness. Read more>>

Iron Gordon | Lowbrow wood cutout artist, sign painter, and your least favorite artist on Youtube

When I first get into any project, I get fully immersed in it, obsessive really. It’s all I want to think about and that doesn’t create a healthy work life balance, especially for someone that is a parent.
But I have a desire to create and make. When I first started posting my art to social media it was just an exercise in consistency for me. Something that would help keep me accountable for making something creative. Read more>>

Keefer Glenshaw | Musician and Performance Artist

My work life balance has tipped exponentially to the former. I am constantly working on my music and my art, 24/7. It is most of what I think about, and I view the world differently because of it. Abandoned buildings turn into performance venues, a thought becomes a lyric, a droning siren a symphony. Music envelopes all in a loving saturation, and I am lucky to see the world through such a lense. Read more>>