What’s the right balance between work and non-work time? The traditional 9-5 has slowly disappeared with the emails and zoom and texting going far beyond traditional business hours. We asked members of our community to share with us how they think about work-life balance.

Chris Downs | Owner

Since taking over as owner of The Kids Play Co., my work life balance has been amazing! The perks of owning an indoor playground is that I can bring my kids to work and they get to play, enjoy the events, attend the classes. and more… all while I am at work! My 5 year old has really enjoyed all that we have to offer and has even helped come up with different games and crafts for our weekly classes. I now have an 18 month old and a third on the way that will surely enjoy The Kids Play Co. as much as my daughter, wife, and I have. Read more>>

Sarah Estes | Marketing Executive & Co-Founder of Preuve

The ideal work-life balance is individualized and evolves as your life stages change. In the early stages of my career, I prioritized the work part of the balance so that I could focus on specialized skill sets and put in the time. When I started having kids, I devised a methodology to achieve a work-life balance, but it wasn’t realistic in my environment. After having a miscarriage followed by a successful rainbow baby birth, I went ahead and forced that methodology to work by resigning from my full-time role and jumping into the consulting/freelance world. After achieving my ideal work-life balance, I decided I could handle a level up and formed Preuve with my business partner and friend, Jon Chapman. We decided to be an online agency, which allowed me to continue working remotely and picking up my little ones from school. Read more>

Nicole Meeks | Planner Enthusiast & Content Creator

Balance looks different at different stages of life. I crave balance because I enjoy doing projects outside of my normal routine and doing those often creates a need for a consistent schedule to build upon. Prior to becoming self employed; I built everything around my work schedule. I believed that doing so would allow me to rest and have time for my family. This thought process allowed me to move through life however, over time I realized I was missing the life I wanted to live. I began to use my planner as a tool to bring balance instead of as a tool to balance life…. I gained a whole new world. Planning helps me visualize what I would like my life to be like and set up systems to support those desires. My desires change however, my responsibilities are pretty standard. I now build my life around my energy levels and my responsibilities. Even though I welcome change; being reliable and consistent are extremely important to me. Read more>>

Kaycee Le’l | Hair Stylist & Educator

Work life balance….this is the story of my life. I’m actually still trying to figure this one out. I hear all the time from family and friends that I work too much. I literally can’t help myself. I love to stay busy and I love what I do. It can be very difficult. I do have to make time for my family and other things I want to do. To be honest, I live by my planner-my old school pen and paper. I truly keeps my life in order. I know this is something I’m continuing to work on. Read more>>

Melissa Hancock | Photographer & Creative Director

Like with most things in life, the balance of time that I allot to work has seasons. When my children were younger, I was fortunate enough to have more time to dedicate to helping them shape themselves into individuals I think are pretty spectacular. Just this year, my youngest entered Kindergarten and my available time has shifted again. I find myself able to do work in editing my photography sessions during the daylight instead of waiting until the kids are in bed! Now I find balance in using my lunch break to visiting them for school lunch. I meet their friends in the cafeteria at a time in my life when I can’t regularly host them at home. I have also found a career that brings me so much authentic joy in the people I’m able to interact with. There is a wonderful feeling of “wholeness” from making your work processes and connection with clients personally uplifting as well. Read more>>

Marcus Geromes | Entrepreneur and Therapist

My work life balance has changed over time primarily as a function of being an employee verses owning my own business. The comfort and freedom of working for someone else was in part the ability to be detached from work once I physically left for the day. Now that I work for myself not only has my work life boundary become more diffuse, but my attitude on the issue has also evolved. I enjoy being an entrepreneur for many reasons and control of my schedule is high on the list. I focus on living a full life; making time for God, family, friends, and exercise. However, since each of these important facets of my life take up a finite amount of minutes each day, I regularly work until late in the evening. I no longer think of having a work life balance but a full life where my work is one very important component. Read more>>