A host of factors, developments, and dynamics have made most industries more competitive than ever. As a result so many of us wonder whether there is still such a thing as work-life balance. We reached out to the community to hear perspectives on finding the right balance.

Heather Lancaster | Founder of Marketing Agency & Photography Studio: Creative Heat, LLC

I’m going to start off by noting how the term ‘work-life balance’ was named as if our lives were meant to be separated into only two categories, work and life. It’s funny, isn’t it? Because true balance actually encompasses all aspects of life (of health and well-being), including work, but with multiple categories requiring our attention and accountability to maintain it. Work should never have received an equal share to Life. Work is a part of Life. Read more>>

Sandra Pelley | Inner Peace Mentor, Confidence Coach and VIsionary of the Guide Academy

As I am sitting in my mom’s guest room, having woken at 5:45am to hop on a call, I love that, as an online entrepreneur, I can work almost anywhere and on my own timeline. My schedule between work and life had been evolving. I used to work every single day on ‘busy’ work. Adopting a three-day business week and using Google Calendar gave me room to adjust as needed with healthy boundaries. That was a shift in finding balance. The next step was obvious. A real vacation. November was an eyeopener for me on how I had neglected myself over the years. I discovered balance in a profound way. Read more>>

Ellen Polk | Book and Content Editor

There was a time when I considered work to be both my career and my hobby. It will come as no surprise that this mindset eventually lead to burnout. Before I made the transition to working for myself full-time, I was balancing the commitment of a full-time project management job at a small technology company with the needs of my clients and the demands of my business. Read more>>

Lauren Stidham | Certified Life Coach & Enneagram Specialist

I used to believe I had to work myself to the bone to be successful. There was always this constant voice in my ear whispering, “It’s not enough.” I was exhausted and depleted. I worked weekends and evenings. It was a challenge. My turning point for my life balance happened when I was taking my coach training. I very vividly remember a moment when we were talking about life balance, and I laughed and stated, “Balance is a myth.”  Read more>>

Andres (Dre) Isidoro | CEO of IsidoroCaptured

If you don’t have balance in life you are building a lifestyle of disaster. Early in my career, I focused on nothing but business. I would eat, sleep, and breathe business. I remember there were multiple times I would go days without proper sleep and rest. Doing this gave me a false feeling of productivity. Looking back at those moments, I was actually causing more damage to not only my business but also myself. Burnout is real and I’ve had to take a step back and address my own issues before I could focus on taking my business to the next level. I advise everyone to have a proper balance between work life and your own life. Read more>>

Farrah LaRaé Wynn | Founder & Business Coach

The word balance is a bit tricky when it comes to life. When I hear this term, I often think of a scale that has two sides to show which weighs more than the other. If we’re measuring things according to that standard, I’d say that I haven’t quite found a balance in my life, rather a method to the madness. Read more>>

O. Daniel Raine | Husband, Father, Entrepreneur – Handyman

Balance is a necessity; the universe has balance in all things. I make all attempts to remain balanced in all aspects of my life. I used to only focus on immediate dopamine rewards but now, have found it best to only make decisions that positively move the needle in: 1. Family 2. Wellness 3. Finances 4. Causes I care about Each pillar works with the others while maintaining enough strength for any one pillar to support all of life’s demands. If something does not fit within any of these categories, it makes it very easy to say “No, thank you.” Read more>>

Laura Allahverdi | Online Business Consultant/Strategist, Web Designer & Copywriter

I used to work on my business 24/7 but after a few years, I felt more secure and started to carve out more time for myself. At some point, you have to reap the benefits of all your hard work. I started by taking every other weekend off and still worked nights. Now I don’t work nights or weekends! My work excites me so I need the balance of working/creating and then relaxing and doing other life activities. My balance may change over time or with particular projects and that’s okay. I have no hard rules, I just feel into what’s right and the right time. Read more>>