How Do You Balance Work and Life?

[Fern]

Re: How Do You Balance Work and Life?

I'm on the slow track. I work a 35-hour week with no overtime. I also have a very part-time freelance gig but all together, work is easy, work is slow and i fee lilke i've lost my edge. If i wanted to kick ass i could make more money, but i don't know, i've lost incentive or something. I'm bored with my work but don't know what else i would do in its place.

[lrjohnson]

Re: How Do You Balance Work and Life?

I work 40 hours but it feels pretty slow track to me. I have worked some pretty long hours and multiple jobs in the past etc., etc.

* My job has regular hours, which is a plus. Having worked retail, I so appreciate M-F day hours.
* My commute is 5 min drive, or 20 minutes if I walk, with no traffic.
* I'm not in school right now...I've worked 40 hours and taken 14 units, and that still wasn't too bad.
* I am child free by choice. All of my time is my time.
* My Guy and I are pretty tidy and low maintenance and we live simply...we don't spend too much time on errands.
* I am low maintenance as far as looks. I can roll out of bed at 6:45 and be at my desk by 7:25. Then I can be home by 4:15 to 4:25, depending on walk/car.
* My job is challenging but not soul sucking. I don't come home wrung out.
* I am very lucky to have good vacation hours and holidays off. When I travel for work I earn comp time at time and a half, so that's extra time off. I can take 2 two week vacations a year with a few three day weekends here and there. In Europe that might look like a little but I know I am very lucky.

I think if you ever work crazy hours or go to school and work or have something else hectic/time demanding, when it ends you feel like you have a lot of time. When I was going to shcool and working full time, then got done with school, it seemed like my 40 hour a week was so very simple and short. Over time of course the same amount of hours feels longer.

[Ima saver]

Re: How Do You Balance Work and Life?

My dh works seven days a week usually. But when he is home, he just works around the house or yard. He used to work til 9-10 at night, but lately, he has slowed down and rarely works past 7 pm.

[Reldon]

Re: How Do You Balance Work and Life?

I am overworked. In a normal week, I am usually in the office from 7AM to 7PM. Also, I usually come in on Saturday for a couple of hours. Unfortunately, I don't make hourly or I would be making a lot more.

[boefixepa]

Re: How Do You Balance Work and Life?

Um..after reading this, I know I'm lucky! I knew it before, but man I appreciate it now!

I work 40 hrs a weeks and occasionally more if needed. I take home challenging plans sometimes because it's easier to work at home...less distractions (read phone calls).

I get up at 5 and walk with the two high energy dogs for an hour
I leave the house for work at 7:20 - need to be at work by 8 but generally 15 min early
Leave work at 5, run any needed errands
Generally home 5:30 - 6
Depending on the day I have a work out group, yard work, house work, cooking
I generally take the low energy dog out for a lazy walk in the evenings (she's a couch potato, doesn't like the high energy walks in the morning, she'd rather watch!)
Catch the 9pm news and then head to bed!

My boss is great I get two weeks vacation, though if I needed more (not sure I really ever would) he'd let me take it.

Heck my old boss (owned the company before the current one) will send me on vacations! The last one was to the bahamas!

I enjoy my job, it can be hectic and frustrating sometimes, boring other times, but overall I enjoy it! I could make more money elsewhere, but I don't think I'd have the quality of life that I want.

[cschin4]

Re: How Do You Balance Work and Life?

2 weeks of vacation? Not sure if you need it? Good luck with that. You must be young. At some point, you will get tired of living your life for "the company". You need to take your vacation time.

[BCHGRL]

Re: How Do You Balance Work and Life?

I guess you could say I'm on the fast track when it comes to my professional life but on a slower track when it comes to my personal life.

I work 40 hours a week and commute 15 hours a week. I worked with very capable folks, and a slow-paced person wouldn't succeed. I make sure the two boys (Dh and his brother) that live with me are fed and the house is clean.

I like to think I'm a little slower when it comes to my personal life, except for maintaining my home. I dated my DH 4.5 years before we were married. I like to take naps and long baths. But if I had kids, I'd be going full-throttle at home too.

[Dido]

Re: How Do You Balance Work and Life?

Balance work and life? For me, it's more over the long-term than the shorter term. I teach, so I have periods of high-intensity work during the school semesters, when I teach full-time at one school and one evening a week at a second; and time "off," which I use to take classes towards a certificate in another field, making things busier than they might otherwise be. School semesters are 15 weeks long plus another week of meetings and preparation before the term and a week of finals, so that's at least 34 weeks a year that I'm working. Summer school terms are six weeks long each. Some summers I teach one or both terms and I have been taking classes the past two summers as well, so that's another 12 weeks of work. The other 6 weeks are more or less off: a full month over the winter holidays, a week for spring break, and a week here and there for long weekends (usually one around Columbus Day, one for Thanksgiving, and one for Easter).

I've never had a 40 hour a week M-F job and can't even imagine what that would feel like. It's feast or famine in terms of work hours here. I definitely would like more time off from work and school but I also need to feel like I have income assured for the future. My teaching is just year-to-year contracts, not tenured and at this point it's not going to be; hence the classes towards another career.

DBF lives a similar, multiple-job patch-together lifestyle. We talk sometimes of combining households, but both houses are a bit too small and we can't find the time that it would take.

[twinsmommy]

Re: How Do You Balance Work and Life?

My life is in high gear.

I work at least 40 hours per week (primary job)
Part time work when I can
Blog when the babies are asleep
Raise twin 11 month old babies alone

I wish that it was different but I split up with my spouse 3 months ago and he doesn't even see the babies anymore (his choice not mine). It was much easier when I had help but I know that this time with them will go so quickly...I spend as much time with them as possible. I try to work from home as often as my boss will let me because they only have to be in daycare for a few hours on those days.

Working hard to pay off their fertility treatments. I want to be debt free by the time they are 3 years old so that I can enjoy them more..

[cschin4]

Re: How Do You Balance Work and Life?

twins - Aren't you tired? And, don't you sometimes wonder what all this working is for if we have to spend so much time away from our own kids? God bless single parents. I think that would be the most difficult job of all trying to balance all of that. I hope you have some family support. I really don't think I could have continued my job without the help of my mother who watched the kids when they were sick and couldn't go to daycare, etc. DH can call off sick if he needs to but having my mom around has been really helpful.
Personally, I don't want to live my life in high gear running from place to place, not having any down time, etc. I can't stand the rat race at all.

[twinsmommy]

Re: How Do You Balance Work and Life?

Yes, I am tired!! I don't have any family support so I pretty much have to do it all. Right now, I am just trying to make sure that we are financially secure. Once I pay the bills we will be fine. I have a good job but my closest relative is 700 miles away. I move here for work.

[LuxLiving]

Re: How Do You Balance Work and Life?

I am praying for you twinsmommy! And your ex and your kiddos!! Chin up darling and catch all the sleep you can. Life eases up a bit once you can go the bathroom by yourself again after toddlerhood is over. But enjoy the newbies...I'm like the Dad on Everybody Loves Raymond...I just wanna suck all that baby smell right off them.

[cschin4]

Re: How Do You Balance Work and Life?

Do you have a close family? Have you considered relocating closer to them? That would help provide your children with some close family ties. And, would provide a network of support for you as well?