What metaphor for life and career do you like? I prefer “work life blending” over “work/life balance.” I can’t easily separate my work life from my personal life, and I like them blended, at least for now. My office is in my home, and my toddler’s playground is in my office. I find “Happy Baby Colors” next to Bryan Garner’s “The Elements of Legal Style.” Yesterday, I couldn’t figure out why nothing happened when I typed only to discover that my keyboard was disconnected. And then there is that very tempting button on my modem, which is my gateway to the internet and phone, the lights change if you push it…it’s pretty cool, I understand. It can be challenging at times, but it is rewarding nonetheless. And I know for sure, it will eventually evolve into some other arrangement, and I am OK with that too. Nothing is permanent except change, as the saying goes.
More and more people embrace such blurred careers, as I was happy to find out form The New York Times Blog “Shifting Careers” written by Marci Alboher, a former lawyer and the author of “One Person/Multiple Careers: A New Model for Work/Life Success.” She writes in her post “Blurring by Choice and Passion”:
I am not yet convinced that loosening boundaries is the answer for everyone. But if you chronically blur the lines between work and life, it is wise to find work you love — or at least enjoy enough to welcome it following you home occasionally.
With that thought, off I go as my life competes for my attention by unceremoniously turning the swivel chair away from the computer.
v. clever title...most of us remember that story of the "buckets, the rocks, the pebbles and the water..."
I too am a big non-fan of the W/L B.
Can't be done...I have found that the moment part of my experience is on cruise control (I have the job I want, the relationship I want, the home I want) I'm looking out there to do something more (volunteer at the local after-school tutoring center, travel to Costa Rica to help with conservation, learn about sustainability and transportation into the 22nd century).
Thanks for bringing this out in your blog!
Posted by: Jason Womack | October 05, 2007 at 08:43 PM
Jason, thank you for your comment. I also feel that there is always that other idea, interest or project that is going to unbalance any kind of balance I may try to achieve. I like to think about my days in terms of rhythms, routines, flow, and energy.
Posted by: Anastasia | October 06, 2007 at 10:40 AM