The Coronavirus has given many us an opportunity to pause and think about life, our purpose, and even the right work life balance. What’s your perspective and has it changed over time?

Sarah Lukemire | Founder & Lead Strategist

Regarding work life balance, it has drastically changed over time. I’m one of those individuals who usually has to learn things firsthand and the hard way. Early on in launching Brindle, I admittedly over-worked and got to a point of burnout. As I matured and realized that I wasn’t being as effective when working long nights, and truly valuing my time or mental and physical health, I got to a much better space, personally. Are there still days where we may have a big project deadline? Of course, but they’re short sprints instead of day in and day out just grinding. Read more>>

Lisa Downs | Documentary filmmaker: Life After Movies””

Definitely when you start your own business, or start to work for yourself on whatever it might be – in my case starting my own production company and trying to get my own ideas off the ground – the work / life balance blurs. Previously for me, I had an 8am to min. 6pm office job working for another production company which was stable, creative, and allowed me to switch off at the end of the day. Now, I have an edit suite in my home, an office desk in my home, and most of my time is spent at home. So how do you switch off at the end of the day? Work is always there. Read more>>

Sophie/Holly Fearon/Huebner | Coffee Bear Owners

Holly: Work hard, play hard – this has always been something that I’ve said to myself. I reward myself with fun when I’ve worked hard, and when I’ve had fun I reward myself with work. Since taking over the Coffee Bear it’s been all about going with the flow and adapting to whatever the day brings… busy season to slow season, over staffed to short staffed, adventuring to putting my head down and working. The first few months of being a business owner felt like a constant tornado of “to-do’s” swirling around me. Read more>>

Robert Poeschl | Architect

At the end of every day it’s helpful to ask oneself, “Did I encounter anything I liked today?” Because I’m an architect and architecture is visual, I often phrase it, “Did I see anything I liked today?” In any case, if you spend your whole day, or even worse, all the days of your week, with your eyes glued to a screen, perpetually on call for work, it’s less likely that you will encounter something you genuinely like (not the shallow Facebook thumbs up, but something more akin to love).…including friends, loved ones, wild nature, music and the essential poetry of life. Learning to ride waves in the surf off Santa Cruz, and encountering sea otters and dolphins, was a lesson in taking time for the nature around us. Read more>>

Kalliope Robinson | Tattoo Artist

My work life balance has always been a struggle. I still think I am figuring out exactly how to place my energy to better both myself and my career. I honestly think of tattooing as a lifestyle as well as a career, which complicates the balance between life and work even more. Being a full time tattoo artist is by far the biggest gift life has given me but it has definitely taken over all aspects of my day to day interaction. Read more>>