What does "work-life balance" mean to you? We usually hear the term in reference to women who have small children and who work outside the home (and certainly, that is a common catalyst), but I think it has implications that cut across gender, relationship status, and parental status. Balance is important to everyone who wants to lead productive, healthy work and home lives, but it can be highly individual, so what would a properly balanced work/home life look like for you?

I am one of those women with a small child working outside the home -- presently in a public library but soon, in a high school library -- and Nell's birth was indeed a powerful catalyst for me to re-evaluate the role work plays in my life.

For me, a suitable balance between work life and home life means that I can be focused on work at work, and focused on my family when I'm at home. This definition allows me a great deal of freedom - freedom to experiment, to mess up, and to tweak what that balance entails whenever necessary. It also prevents me from seeking an impossible future perfect; by setting myself a goal of focusing, rather than a set of bullet points to achieve, I can be more flexible in my thinking about what steps to take.

I'll bend or even break my own rules sometimes -- for example, when I was co-writing a book, I had to carve out time on weekends and evenings to make progress -- and what I learned from that is that I don't like doing that, and although it's definitely been worth it do to it once, it would be smarter to limit myself to smaller writing projects in future. The rules have to bend in the opposite direction, too -- when Nell gets sick, or when her daycare is shut due to inclement weather, either my husband or I have to be home, period. And sometimes there's a happy overlap -- I have the day off today, but I'm writing this while my daughter is napping.

The biggest change I've made recently, in my continuing quest for a more satisfying balance between work life and home life, is changing jobs. I am leaving public libraries, where I've been very happy & productive, to be a high school librarian (where I hope I will be just as happy & productive). I am hopeful that the benefits of being home by 3:30 and having summers off will outweigh the pre-caffeine crankiness that will inevitably arise from waking up at 5:30 most weekday mornings.

So, to get back to my question, what does balance mean to you?

Hello!

This is an interesting question, and one that seems to keep changing in my own life, as I'm sure it does for everyone. I am currently at home with our almost three year old daughter, but I'm in the process of finishing my certification to become a school librarian. I worked in a public library as a young adult librarian for almost 9 years, and decided to make the change to schools before our daughter arrived. However, with her appearance, it became even more important for me to switch my working schedule. I just couldn't see how a public library job could give me the hours I needed for a family, unless it was part time work. At one point I was working three full nights and every other weekend. And my scheduled changed many times in the years I was there, which would have made daycare an absolute nightmare.

This year I took on a consulting job at a small nearby library, had a book proposal accepted and was taking a class. Things were fine...until my daughter decided to give up her nap at the beginning of October. That was a crushing blow! My free time in the afternoon, once a day that I could count on was whisked away in a few days. The book ground to a halt and I have another class starting soon. So she is off to preschool now and I'm hoping that I'll get back some of the time I lost, for myself and for working on projects.

Balance seems hard to find right now, but things do have a way of working out over time.

Sophie, did you have to go back to get additional certification or were you already certified when you first got your MLS? I'd love to hear how working in the school goes for you.

Tasha

Ms. Boyd, I, too, am looking forward to a possible gym membership with this new job. There's a gym sandwiched neatly between my school and Nell's daycare.

indigo66, I will be getting my certification as I go -- that is, I'm waiting on paperwork confirming my provisional certification, and will start taking the required education courses this summer. I'm doing the whole program online, through Rutgers/SCILS. I will definitely keep you posted!

TalkingBooksLibrarian, I totally understand what you mean, and I agree -- one of the things I've treasured about my current (soon-to-be-former) library is that my department is full of women with young families, and everyone Gets It when it comes to family stuff, particularly young kids with illnesses.

Edited to add: what kind of stuff do you do outside of work that you feel brings balance into your life? For me, it's stuff I haven't been doing for a while because I was wrapped up in projects like developing & teaching an online course and co-writing a book on pop culture & libraries (for which, full disclosure, Rachel Singer Gordon is my editor). 2008 is going to be my year of reconnecting with the Domestic Goddess within. It is such a cliche, but I really do draw a great deal of satisfaction and pride from my abilities in the kitchen (particularly baking, which necessitates the gym membership referenced above), and I want to pass those skills on to my daughter. I am a lapsed knitter, and would like to take up sewing, as well.

Other things that make me feel in whack (as opposed to out of whack) are taking brisk walks, going to the movies & record shopping with my husband, lolling on the beach, reading, and writing.

Great question! I learned that finding or defining "balance" is definitely a subjective process. When I was (and still am to some degree) struggling with the overwhelming and daunting journey of finding a harmonious balance between work and non-work, I soon learned that "balance" was synonymous with my spritual development and realized that "balance" is defined as what works for me. I needed to learn limits of both my time and my mental processing so that when not at work, I was fully present in my non-work activity. I needed to learn to be in tune with my body as I strongly believe that one's physical, mental and emotional make-up will send signs to when an environment change is in order.

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Veronica L. C. Stevenson-Moudamane

Zayit, something that's worked really well for me: keeping a small notebook with me all the time, with space for work notes and life notes, and then writing down those random thoughts that pop into my head when I'm in the wrong place to do anything about it. So, in your example, if I thought about signage while walking through the park with my family, I'd whip out the notebook and jot it down and empty it out of my head.

It works in reverse too. When I'm at work and suddenly recall I have to buy something for home, I jot it down in the notebook.

It seems simple but it's been a lifesaver. I used to spend way too much mental energy trying to remember things. This idea came from the David Allen Getting Things Done system, which I haven't implemented except for that tiny part.

Another way I work to achieve balance is to compartmentalize work and life, especially when it comes to technology. For example, I try pretty hard to keep my work and personal email separate (with some overlap with friends who are also professional colleagues).