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There is something mystical about our spring rituals, from Lent, to the Passover Seder, to tax time. Legend has it that, at the Equinox, all gravitational forces are balanced and one can literally stand an egg on its end. (As an adult, though, I learned that anyone can stand an egg on its end at ANY time during the year.) If we could only find this balance, strike it, and embrace it, we feel that we would find peace at work and home. The seasonal urge seeks to free us from the feelings of guilt and inadequacy stemming from imbalance - this is when the Container Store turns a profit!

I lived this way for years, investing in my spring rituals like some invest in New Year's resolutions - until I had children, and all bets were off. I sensed a new need for equilibrium at work and home, realizing that these ideals were like that egg on its end: mythical. I needed to redefine what balance meant to me.

Many studies have proven that too many work hours and too little balance leads to disgruntled employees with worse health, higher absenteeism, and less of a sense of productivity. A web search for "work life balance" exposes a cottage industry full of soothsayers willing to take your money and sell you the dream. What I've realized, though, is that balance will mean different things to us at different times in our lives. What works today may not be effective tomorrow. While making the transition from a full-time position to working two days a week, I needed to redefine "balance." I've learned that, whether we are veterans in the library world or new to a job or the profession, we all need to get a GRIP (Gestalt, Resolve, Inch, and Persist).

Gestalt

Gestalt involves art and science, together, and inseparable. (Anyone who has had to manage kids and career can tell you that this involves a little of both, all the time!) The psychological theory is holistic, viewing the discrete aspects of an issue together as one. Essentially, in Gestalt psychology, the whole is more than the sum of its parts. This is a perfect way to view your organization when you enter it, and essential to thriving in it as you move through your career: you are one piece in a larger organizational puzzle, and work is only one part of your larger personal whole.

Whether work/home, or home/work, the whole picture of your life inextricably links all these roles together. It might be tempting to wish you could win the lottery and never work again. But, the truth of your gestalt is that you wouldn't be the same person without the contributions you bring and challenges you face in your work environment. While your workplace could fill your position, the new employee would bring different values, ideas and passions; he or she would change that environment. Viewing your workplace this way can be both daunting (needing to think of everything as one) and liberating (seeing that not everything depends on you alone, but that everything benefits from the role you fill). Think chicken and egg here: It doesn't matter which comes first; we need both.

Resolve

Resolve to make change successfully and contribute consistently, without losing yourself in the process. The only way to achieve this is to become a goal generator. Setting time aside to set and define goals has several benefits for your place in your organization. First, it helps you resolve to be successful, to state that intention, and ensure that you can prove your worth to your coworkers, constituents, and supervisors. You don't need to create this "strategic plan" for yourself alone or claim that you'll achieve everything at once. You goals, however, focus your intention to steadily contribute to your organization's success.

Inch Forward

"Inch forward," no matter how slowly. If you seek balance, charting your path to success by self-imposed timelines can mean psychological disaster. Since "balance" resides in the realm of the psyche, setting strict timelines can mean attitudinal suicide. Instead, I find it helpful to have meaningful mile markers. These might be something like one more handout for a constituent, or a section of a web site that gets revamped. Mile markers are a lot easier to handle than considering a "marketing plan" for a group of faculty or redoing an entire group of web sites at once. This viewpoint allows you to flow in between tasks when you're most inspired to consider them. If inching forward doesn't work for you, think of the "one day at a time" mantra - or even try one millimeter, or one moment at a time.

Persist

The trick here is to have goals that are both reasonable and worthwhile - a seeming contradiction when too few employees face too much work. Persistence will differ from person to person, depending on how you are best motivated. Networking is the key for me, and this started with being clear about my goals with my employer. In return, my supervisor was able to offer me more flexible hours and the ability to work from home (within reason).

I network for emotional and intellectual support; I have handy experts in various roles: a coworker with whom I can brainstorm and write well, a mother I admire, a relative I trust and who knows me well. All these advisors nudge me to push my boundaries. That forces me out of my comfort zone and helps me move toward my goals (a shorter article, a coauthored policy, delegating a basic task to free me up for something else, a casual party idea). Persistence can mean committing to smaller, more doable projects and forcing yourself to knock them out as they come due, helping you inch closer to the goal line.

Balance is not the same for everyone. For me, at least for now, balance means relieving some pressure at work, cutting hours, and earning less. That's not possible or desirable for everyone. But, in the end, you'll know you are striking a balance if you can make changes without compromising your ability to make significant contributions to your workplace. You'll lose some of the delusions of grandeur that add to your sense of workplace pressure by letting go of what others think and by focusing on what you can and should accomplish. Balance means understanding that you won't do anything perfectly or evenly, and appreciating each move forward for what it is.

I suppose I am learning to love my eggs a bit scrambled.

Rebecca Albrecht Oling is the Coordinator of Instruction and Literature Librarian at Purchase College, State University of New York. She received her MLS from Kent State University in 1997.