How do you balance work and home life?
For me, work and home are intertwined.
As an independent journalist, most of my work is done at home. My day begins with going through news feeds and email. The actual writing happens later in the day.
Admittedly, I am not a morning person, especially early mornings. I have always been a night owl and for some reason, my brain doesn’t seem to fully engage until later. When I was in college, I did my translation work late at night because that seemed to be the time my brain could concentrate on stuff like that.
These days, nearly everything I write is via the computer and not with pen and paper, which means I need to do more thinking and figuring out what I want to say. When I write using pen and paper, it feels like my words flow out of my brain, down my arm, and out of the pen. Typing isn’t the same; so I really need to find the right time of day to get my brain properly engaged.
Fortunately, I was very young when I first learned how to type, so I don’t generally have to think when it comes to hitting the right keys…just hope my fingers cooperate and hit the right keys. 🙂
In some ways, I work my home life around what I need to do work wise and since I live alone, there is no issue with schedules and juggling other people’s time lines.
Working while dinner is in the oven or while the dishwasher is running has its advantages. ..and quite the timesaver. They work while I am working and in the case of the dishwasher, it waits patiently for me to get around to emptying it…or just work my way through the items inside as I use them again.
Married friends both have demanding jobs – they are doctors -, two pre-teen children, and VERY busy schedules. They seem to live out of the calendar. I must prefer my way of things…laid back and not rushed. And if there are issues that slow down my work – hands cramping up, killer back ache from leaning over the computer, etc. I can take a break with no worries.
Oh, and if I want a snack, all I have to do is walk over to the kitchen and help myslelf.