Walking Down the Work-Life Balance Beam

February 3rd will mark my second anniversary here at Big Sea and Cordelia Labs. Between my birthday last week and this milestone this week, it has me reflecting how much in my professional life (and real life) has changed. And honestly, I couldn't be more thankful.

2021 - Glimpses of Post-Pandemic Life

In early 2021, we started getting a peek of how post pandemic life could look - kind of like true normalcy. Healthcare started distributing vaccines. Billionaires were heading into space. States began legalizing CBD. My new hometown, Tampa Bay, won both the Super Bowl and the Stanley Cup!

Life was quite the rollercoaster for everybody during this time. Personally, I moved south to Florida, landed a new job, had a pretty serious surgery to which the recovery was a beast in itself. I got engaged to my now husband and also moved in with him. That's a lot. Even for a girl from Jersey.

So many changes all at once meant one thing: I needed a clear voice telling me what this chapter meant. What did I need to make sure I was setting myself up for success?

Having spent the last 20+ years in big and small New York-based agencies meant there would certainly be an adjustment. No more $10+++ million dollar media budgets. No more three+++ hour long strategy sessions. No more deadlines that involved staying up until wee hours. And no more useless meetings.

What I wanted all along and didn't realize I desperately needed was a true understanding of work-life balance. So much had changed and going back to my old ways of working would not work for me. I was older and wiser right? In the decades I worked in New York, my career was my personal life and vise versa. One didn't exist without the other. There was no such thing as balance.

I had an opulent city. I had benefits. I had a decorated resume. But what I lacked was a life.

2022 - Trusting the Process

Two years ago, when I made the big move, I couldn't wait to get started. I was ready to tackle any media monster that stood in my way. I completed tasks quickly because I could. I worked fast and wanted to leave my mark on everything.

What I quickly learned was part of achieving a work-life balance involves trusting the process.

Andi Graham said to me, "We trust you. You don't have to do everything all at once. Create and build."

That's not what a 10 to 12 hour a day media veteran is used to hearing... Slow down?

Well, she was right. Rome wasn't built in a day, and neither would Cordelia Labs - the paid media arm of Big Sea.

Don't be fooled. There's still some crazy deadlines, useless meetings and late nights. It is agency life after all. But there were much fewer. My new co-workers did a great job of knowing what was possible and setting the right expectations. They continue to do so today.

This blew my mind. I actually started to breathe a bit. The whole work-life balance you hear people talk about actually started to make sense.

2023 - Balancing Life with Life

As my trusting the process mentality progresses, so does Cordelia Labs. Cordelia mean daughter of the sea we are growing up fast and I'm super proud of the work we've accomplished so far. Read through our case studies and check out our blog.

I have a fantastic team who works hard.

A great boss who always brings innovative ideas to the table.

Some clients who continue to make us think smarter not harder about how to reach their goals.

And most importantly? I learned balance.

Instead of calling it a work-life balance though, I'm really just happy calling it my life.

PS: I have recovered fully from my surgery and married my best friend. I can truly say... things are balanced and good.