24 hours in a day, 168 hours in a week. Junior investment bankers regularly work 80-90 hours a week. Many other high profile professions require the same level of commitment. Often those on the outside claim that working 80-90 hours a week is bad/wrong/terrible/silly/etc but we’ve spoken with so many folks who say working that much has been the best decision of their life – it allowed them to develop a deep and strong skill set far faster than would have been possible otherwise. In other words, by working 2x the hours, they were able to generate 5x or more the rewards. And depending on where you are in your career, investing heavily in your skills and competence can pay dividends for a long time.

Kelsey Harrison | Shop Owner

My mindset and lifestyle have transformed over the past year. Being forced to slow down and stay home opened me up to relaxed progress. As an Enneagram 3, I’ve always been a doer—chasing cool + exceeding expectations. However, the new me is trying new things (hello, gardening), and being willing to fail at a few of them. I’m kicking off the pressure to multi-task and focusing on the people or assignment at-hand. Practically speaking, I’ve quit playing by instagram’s rules. My life and my business are my own. Read more>>

Nikia Webster | Podcast Host, Blogger & Media Personality

I have found that the key to a well-executed work-life balance rests in the coherence and affirmation of your personal limits. It is also a question of being practical as to how you use your free time. At one point, I answered every call, went to every meeting, and always found a way to do my job, no matter how tired I felt. I wish I could follow and say that I quickly learned that this was not a worthwhile road, but if I am completely transparent, it took me a few years. Since then, it has become clear to me that setting consistent boundaries is a necessary practice. In addition to making adjustments to my schedule to allow for rest, I end each email with a reminder that I honor and respect personal boundaries, and that if the recipient is in a state of rest, I encourage them not to reply. By extending this degree of kindness to others, I was able to accept the grace of rest in my own life. Consider beginning each message or commitment with a simple, “How are you doing?” or “I hope you’re okay.” Read more>>

Zoe Horton | Baker/Small Business Owner

Becoming a mother and an entrepreneur in the same year was exhilarating yet not always easy. Three years later, I’m still having to constantly work on priorities and balance. COVID, in a round about way, helped me come to this realization that less can be more. I was chasing every event, order, marketing deal and more without always seeing the return and finding myself exhausted and away from my family. I’ve really worked on being present and curating the projects I take on. Although my days can change, I’ve found making myself a schedule and priority list weekly helps me navigate where to focus and what to pass on. Read more>>

Hailee Hall | Owner/CEO of Aesthetic Prints

Towards the beginning of my sophomore year of high school, I was anxious about how I could appeal to colleges. I wasn’t involved in anything I considered meaningful, I had idle time, and I didn’t know how to get involved. Some months later, COVID changed our lives negatively, but many opportunities opened up for me. In June, I started taking on more roles in my church. In July, I became the Assistant Secretary of the Dallas NAACP Youth Council. In August, I started Aesthetic Prints, and in September, I started my junior year of high school. Thankfully, I added on more responsibility at a slow rate but it was still a struggle to plan out my weeks ahead. Now, almost a year later, my studies have become more challenging, and I am now the Secretary of the Dallas NAACP Youth Council. Even with those enhancements, I don’t have any issues with planning and carrying different responsibilities. Read more>>

Megan Winkler | Marketing Coach & Podcaster

The idea of work life “balance” is a tricky one. I remember reading about work life alignment instead several years ago and it really struck me. When we think about the word balance, there’s a lot of tension there. If I give to one thing, I have to take away from another – kind of like balancing an old-school scale. With alignment as the goal, we can approach work and non-work life in a whole different way. By aligning my work values with my personal values, I don’t feel like the two are in conflict, which means I feel more balanced as a person. One of the non-negotiables for my personal life is family time in the evenings and on the weekends, so my work happens during regular business hours Monday through Friday MOST of the time. Now, owning a business means that you’re sometimes burning that proverbial midnight oil, but I strive to avoid that whenever possible. As soon as I switched my thinking from that more rigid idea of balance to the kinder version of alignment, my work quickly shifted for the better. Read more>>

Ellis Raymond | General Manager/ Co-founder of Jim Montgomery Swim School

My work life balance has changed drastically in the last year ironically due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Prior to our “new normal” I spent a majority of my time either physically at my business or stationed on a computer trying to keep up with my administrative duties. I missed many soccer games, cheer classes and a whole bunch of family time trying to keep driving business growth and maintain order of the business. My kids new that I was working hard to keep the swim school the best it could be and if I hustled now we could have more time together as they got older. My “village” was amazing helping me take care of them and kept them regularly attending their activities. Since the pandemic I re-focused my time to purposefully have the ability to be present at more of my children’s events. I am not perfect, and I still do not make it to everything but I have been able to be both a business owner and a mom with much more success. Read more>>

Hasina Echoles | Speech Language Pathologist and Entrepreneur

My work life balance has definitely changed over time. When I first started my business I felt that I needed to be working all of the time. If I was not then I was not working hard enough. I often neglected myself, friends, and family because of that mindset. This led to no balance. Now I realize that you can work really hard, accomplish your goals, and be 100% dedicated and still spend time on yourself as well as your family and friends. It is important to rest, to take time to reflect and give yourself the grace to take a break and pay attention to your body and mind. Read more>>