Work / Life Balance

Today I'm going to talk to you about my work / life balance and let you in on what I actually do all day. Let me start off this post just by listing the various jobs I have. I work as a design assistant and a freelance copywriter. I'm also a journalist, stylist, blogger, pattern designer, workshop tutor and I run my homeware brand too. So that's 8 jobs.

Sounds a like a lot when I write it down. The thing is I LOVE work, I really really really love it. I'm not one of those people who can acquire all of my happiness and fulfillment from one 9-5 job, to me that sounds pretty boring and I'm sure it would drive me mad. The other thing to mention is that I'm not doing all these jobs and projects all at the same time. I might be busy with one or two things while the others are pretty quiet, very occasionally they'll all be demanding my attention at once, but that's rare.

I'm pretty sure if I had unlimited time I would fill most of it with these projects and they would all be going really well and be ticking along nicely. However, there's such a limited amount of time and energy I can invest in these jobs so I try and rotate them. At the moment I'm doing more copywriting and work on my blog, in the Summer I'll be busy teaching workshops so things are always changing.

I love the amount of pride and just pure joy and excitement I get from my work. Sometimes I'll think to myself "I have so much work to do and I'm going do the best job I can." and once it's finished I'll say "woah that was crazy, look how much I've achieved. I am pretty darn great!".

So, ok, I have to admit I do sometimes get panicky, overwhelmed and worried but not as half as much as I used to when I was suffering pretty badly from anxiety. The thing that is important to remember is that I can stop at anytime. Anyone can stop at anytime. I've asked for (and also given myself) this work so I can chose to slow down if I stop enjoying it.

Onto to the life stuff. As equally as I pile on the work I also take huge advantage of down time and breaks. I go on holiday a lot. I don't spend lots of money on these brakes mind you, but I definitely do take all the time off I can.

For me it's a total work / life balance. I work extremely hard and so I really appreciate the amazing time off I get to share with my friends, my family and my boyfriend Simon. I am really excited for the Spring and Summer as I have so many weekends and little holidays planned, which of course I'll be sharing on here.

I recently came across the term "Portfolio Career" whilst listening to the BBC World Service station on the radio. I thought "that's me!" I never knew there was a term for what I did for work. Just like the slightly neurotic, control freak that I am I was so happy to discover that I could pop my career choice in a nice little package.

If you'd like to read more about portfolio careers I spotted this book that looks pretty interesting. I'd love to hear how you manage your schedule and what you do that makes you feel fulfilled. Let me know by commenting or say hi on my social media.