"I had landed this prestigious job at a Big Ten University, I was a marketing professor at age 27, and I was not happy. After several months, I wanted to quit. I decided to be the architect of my career, and that changed everything." Lan Nguyen Chaplin, Ph.D.'s American Dream was coming true. The youngest of 14 children from a Vietnamese refugee family, she was the only one to go college, and then grad school. Her siblings had sacrificed, she told Catalyst, to support the family, and make that possible. To repay the debt, Chaplin said, "I felt like I needed to be laser-focused on success." That focus led her to want to quit after only a few months. Instead, she found a way to, as she puts it, "craft my job," by leaning into a childhood passion that she'd never completely let go of. Hers is a very different saga of finding that work/life balance — guilt free. How do you tailor your job to serve your needs?
I have always been deeply committed to my work, often to the point of burnout. Over time, I found myself struggling to stay motivated—even in taking care of my own well-being. That changed when I rediscovered a creative outlet: writing. It reignited my sense of purpose and passion, not just professionally but personally. To maintain a sustainable balance, I became intentional about structuring my time, even mapping out 24-hour calendars to ensure I prioritize both my responsibilities and my well-being. This shift has allowed me to be more fulfilled in all aspects of my life—without sacrificing myself or my loved ones in the process.
I have a different conceptual framework when it comes to work life balance. Many consider this in terms of time management but I think of it in terms of energy management. If the net energy required for the categories of work and life is negative, there will be dissatisfaction/unhappiness/chronic fatigue or something of the sort. If the net energy is positive, there will be positive feelings. Balance is simply having a net zero of energy in vs. energy out. A better goal than balance is net positive. Many factors go into the equations for each individual and what energizes and deenergizes any individual varies.
I have found that my work-life balance feels good only when my work allows me to achieve the personal goals I set for myself. Let me explain what I mean. As the CEO of a company, I have to make numerous decisions, many of which are difficult and complex. Often, I am unsure of the “right” choice, which can create stressful situations since I am fully aware of the consequences of making the wrong decision. At the same time, my role provides me with an incredible level of freedom to be creative. Most of the ideas I imagine, I have the opportunity to bring to life. This creative freedom brings me immense satisfaction and helps to create an important sense of balance. For me, work-life balance is less about separating work and personal life and more about finding equilibrium between the tasks I have to do, which may not always be enjoyable, and the tasks I love to do, which bring me joy and fulfillment. In essence, this is what real work-life balance means to me: a harmony between responsibility and passion.
Fitting one's work into one's life passions is a good plan. In 2016, my wife wanted us to become hobby farmers, so we became hobby farmers, raising a few sheep on a few acres. In 2017, my wife decided that we should embrace regenerative agriculture, the art and science of bringing back healthy ecology to soils through farming. So we embraced regenerative agriculture. That same year, I met with fortuitously with one of the world's most prominent agroecologists, who lived just down the road from our farm, and she introduced me to her community of scholars the next year. That year, I started collaborating academically with a group of agriculture scientists she introduced me to, on agroecology and how to preserve soil health in North America, beginning to incorporate my work into my life's new passion. I'm a mathematical and statistical scientist, not an agriculture scientist, so this new work direction felt very special indeed. In 2019, our farm was awarded a coveted national humane farming certificate (2% success rate, I'm told), thanks to my wife's writing and storytelling skills on what we had done at our farm. By this point, we had expanded our sheep-breeding operation to 50 acres and nearly 100 ewes.
I've learned (sometimes the hard way) that fitting my work into my personal life—not the other way around—requires intentionality. As someone deeply involved in communications, knowledge mobilization, and learning development, it's easy to let work consume all my energy. But I’ve found that prioritizing creative pursuits like creative writing, journaling, knitting, sewing and crocheting, and running helps me stay grounded. One shift that’s helped me is integrating purpose into my work. When I align my professional efforts with my values—whether through engaging storytelling, supporting learning communities, or advocating for ethical AI use—it stops feeling like a grind and starts feeling like a meaningful extension of my life. Curious to hear how others navigate this balance!
I believe it isn’t a matter of fitting work into my personal life but rather blending the two together. With today’s online learning environment it is important to make myself available to my students when they have questions or are working on their academic studies. This often occurs at night and on weekends so some might say this interferes with my personal life but I have a very loving and supportive husband who understands that teaching my students is my passion, not just my job. Of course I have many activities outside of teaching that provide me with joy and fulfillment so that helps with achieving a work-life balance. This is easier to achieve now later in my career than it was as an assistant professor though ??
I would be a hypocrite if I said it was possible to have a work-life balance or integration. When I was a young professional, I spent oodles of hours on campus, trying to make all aspects of student life perfect for my students. As there is no such thing, I simply enjoyed the creativity and purpose my job offered me - for lots of hours. Any personal life I had was intertwined with my work and even when I got married and had children, I tried to combine the two rather than separate them. My kids got great attention from my spouse because she is simply the best, but my involvement was what they would call minimal. I am very fortunate that my kids are normal and my spouse stayed with me - but it was not due to being able to "balance" things. When folks say that you need to say "no" at work, I say that's fine if you and your boss are easy to please and you do not want to be promoted. The best a dedicated worker can do is combine the home and work when possible (I had campus events) and try to make the time with family "quality-time" and not just a respite from work. Several books offer ways to find integration and balance, but I disagree there is an easy way to do this for many professions. The best one can do is keep trying.
Everyone craves work life balance and there is a reason we do this. It allows us to be healthier, have more relationships and not have our identity just defined by work. I think at the risk of sounding cliche, you have to truly be intentional in establishing healthy boundaries which are flexible and can allow for periods of intense focus and energy investment at work but also allow us the right to disconnect from work and truly live in the moment when on holidays or with your family. We are quite complex beings and we need a tailored healthy balance in our lives. Too much work can lead to burn out while too little work can cause your mental powers to languish. Part of finding a work life balance which works for you involves finding the right employer who can give you the flexibility and split in your professional and personal lives. If you are a people leader it is within your power to support your team to reach that healthy balance between being productive at work while having time for your personal life. Burn out is costly so the choice should be obvious for leaders.
I learned the hard way—after severe burnout—that I have to prioritize myself first. Exercise and walking are non-negotiables, and I’ve also returned to school for another degree because I truly love learning. I make time for movies, friends, and self-care, including facials and physical support. I never used to think of these things as self-care, but now I see them as essential care. Taking care of myself makes me better in every area of life.
Founder, Author & Partner at Economy Of One
1 个月You need to know who or what you serve. The Bible says you cannot serve God and money-& the angst many feel is the tension of needing a higher purpose of our work, yet often the definition of success hinges on measurable outcomes (like money earned). We walk our working lives within this tension- & freedom comes when you decide who to serve- as often we spend decades in the wrong camp because we do not understand our own values & how they drive choices we make. This statement is true -whether you believe in God or not. Think about it.