Suit: Paul Smith, Top and faux fur coat: & Other Stories, Shoes: Gucci, Bag: Staud
Ah, that age old saga of work/ life balance. Who can hand on heart sit there and say that they have got it spot on? Because I definitely cannot. If you have indeed fine tuned those spinning plates to perfection then you need a medal, oh and you also need to come and teach me how to tame my out of control crockery please.
Since going freelance at the beginning of the year I stupidly thought that that would mean I’d be able to get it spot on, right? The fact that I was no longer working a full time job alongside running my blog and creating as much content as I do would surely mean I’d have more time to do things and stuff, to hang out with pals and actually spend time with my boyfriend that didn’t involve me pushing the camera into his hands and declaring my favourite phrase (apparently) ‘just a couple more’. Hmm, apparently not. I feel one of my biggest issues though is that I am such a yes man. I need to learn when to say no, I can’t do that, or I can’t make it today. Instead, and probably even more so now since I have ‘more time’, I find myself plotting ways in which I can manage to fit the 25167 things I’ve agreed to in one day. The thing is, if you have new found extra time than what you’ve been previously used to, you will naturally fill it as quick as possible. I’m creating more content and writing more blog posts and meeting up with more people and so actually no, it doesn’t feel like I have anymore time, in fact quite the opposite.
I love doing what I do and I basically work 24/7 because I can’t switch my brain off, and well, I don’t want to. I’ve never worked as hard as I do currently which probably has a lot to do with the fact I now work for myself, but I also love what I’m doing which is ultimately what drives me to work until 10pm on a Friday night writing blog posts in the bath (yep, current situation). Now this is fine once in a while, but when it becomes ‘normal’ then it definitely makes me stop to think that maybe the balance needs to be restored a little. Working from home most of the time means all my days basically blend into one and so Monday will come around again and sometimes I barely even had chance to realise it was the weekend. I’d definitely like to try and separate it a bit more so that I have the time on a weekend with my pals and with Elliott and be there fully, not with half my brain elsewhere.
So, if you too are feeling a little out of kilter with your balancing act, whatever you may be balancing in life, make sure you take a step back every now and then to assess and re-align. After all, no matter how much you love your job, you work to live, not live to work. Rachael X
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