Summersalt swimsuit (c/o)
Ellen James handbag
Birkenstock sandals
Zara sunglasses (similar)
Muru Jewellery necklace (c/o)
Urban Outfitters earrings
Location: Kamini Beach – Hydra Island, Greece
I spotted that short sentence in an instagram post the day after we got home from New York, and it stopped me in my tracks. Not because I was sorry to be home again – five days in New York is about all I have the stamina for, a fact that the city reminds me of every time I visit. But because from the moment we arrived, I spent every minute devoted to work and sleep.
I think everyone feels differently about work. What motivates us to choose what we do for a living is so highly individual. For me, a career is not a way of killing time. And although it is a means to pay bills, that isn’t primarily why I go to work every day. In many ways, my field of study set me up to fail in the working world, and I’ve invested years of time (not to mention energy) in achieving professional success despite that. My work isn’t glamourous. No one is ever going to make a movie about the life of an Operations Manager in Human Resources. But it’s the path that I chose, and since I do nothing halfway, I wouldn’t give it up. (There are, of course, lots of practical reasons that I keep my day job, too.)
Everyone has a different attachment to work, too. Personally, I am extremely dedicated to it, often to a point of self-sacrifice. I put in long hours voluntarily, and travel regularly to meet clients when anyone else would refuse. The choices are mine, and I make them. If I’m not happy with them, I have no one to blame but myself.
The thing is, it isn’t even that I am unhappy with them. But it strikes me a bit more profoundly each time we return from vacation just how much time I spend working when I could be living. My career, particularly in the past year, has gone from something I spend my weekdays doing to something that consumes my days (and evenings, not to mention weekends.) In many ways, my home office feels like a swirling vortex of entropy – I’ve been sucked into chaos and I can’t find my way out again.
Despite what the quote at the start of this post would suggest, I know the difference between a career and a life. And if the amount of times I’ve cancelled or postponed plans in 2019 is anything to go by, I gave up the latter for the former about a year ago. I wouldn’t trade the experiences I’ve had as a result of that. But I find myself wondering if there isn’t some plausible way that I could ultimately find a balance. After all, a career, even a fulfilling one, seems a bit pointless if you don’t get any real time off to spend your earnings enjoy life.
Yesterday, I flew to Edmonton and back in a span of twelve hours. I was up before the sun and home just in time to fall into bed, exhausted. Today, I’m up just in time to start all over again. The day we spent on Hydra Island, and the lazy moments spent on Kamini Beach looking over the mediterranean, feel like a lifetime ago. My career and a life are, it seems, mutually exclusive. And I’m not entirely sure if I want to keep sacrificing one for the other…
I’ve always had an issue with striking a good career/life balance. I’ve forced myself to be more mindful of it (and the distinctions between work and life) since Eleanor came along but it’s definitely still something I struggle with. Not to mention all the side projects I seem to be incapable of refusing than just seem to endlessly pile up. Sigh. I’ll keep working it I suppose.
Courtney ~ Sartorial Sidelines
Isn’t that the truth, but one that is easy to forget or ignore. I’m still trying to find a career life balance (or you know, a career, haha) I want to feel like the work I do has meaning, and I want to make enough money that I can actually take time off and spend it. That always seems to be the catch – if you work enough to have lots of money to enjoy, then you have little time to do so. I hope you can find out what you can sacrifice in 2020 to give yourself a little more balance.
Chic on the Cheap