What is work/life balance?  Not sure – to me, life always wins…

Even before the pandemic and working from home became more of the norm, I was often asked about work/life balance. The question that would usually come up is, “What’s your advice to manage work/life balance?”

I would respectfully argue that is not the right question.

For me, and I’m guessing for you as well, work/life balance is something that is very personal and at the core of our life journey. So, I think the question we really should be asking ourselves is, “What works best for my life?”

I think we can all relate to the following sentiment: When you are your best at home is often when you are your best at work – and when you are your best at work is when you are your best at home. I recognize that it isn’t always that simple, but I believe the correlation is undeniable.

There are many personal angles on this lifelong balance journey, but one thing I think we can all agree on is what works for me probably won’t work for you. When I go away on vacation (or more recently staycations), I don’t really enjoy myself unless I wake up early, take some time, check in where needed, go through emails and get caught up. It helps me relax and enjoy the rest of the day with my family. For others, they prefer to unplug and totally leave work behind.

Both approaches are great. To me, it’s more about owning what makes you YOUR best.

At Main Street America, our head of sales Sarah Bourdeau recently held a meeting with her team to discuss returning to the field. We’ll soon launch an office pilot program and like many other companies will have employees returning to the office for the first time in more than a year. For some this is a long awaited, happy return. For others, there may be trepidation and perhaps an adjustment period to another new normal.

Wherever you may fall, events like these allow each of us to take ownership of our personal work/life balance journey.

If 2020 has proven anything, it’s that in our quest to find the optimal work/life balance, life always wins. It wins over moving your office to your house or going back to the office. It wins over your kids learning via Zoom or going back to school. It wins over the stress of COVID-19 or getting to spend time again with friends and family.

There is nothing more important than living your best life and finding YOUR right balance. Work/life balance? Nope, for me, it’s just life. And for me, that’s just the way it should be.