Work-Life Balance
October 18, 2026 – I’m not sure if it’s a thing
It’s been a couple of weeks since my last blog post. Skipping my weekly reflection via blog is an clear indicator that work is busy and I am not prioritizing my wellness and wants to get through the day or week. The workload still exists, and last week was spent mostly on “the urgent” and the week before getting overwhelmed. I’m not actually sure if work-life balance exists, but I do appreciate to small moments of time when I can connect with nature, rest in my Lazy-Boy chair, or be with my cat. It’s the simple things that ground me and keeps things at bay. That said, life can be overwhelming. Lots of things happening with my family and at work, such that I cannot keep up with other obligations such as projects and personal health. I love this photo as it was a moment during one of my classes and we are engaged in Lauren McLean’s sit spot at West Lake Provincial Park. I would say this is one of my favourite places to be in/near Prince George.
That photo was taken about two weeks ago. The last two weeks has been a whirlwind and I am humbly reminded that I can only do what I can do. Sometimes that realization can be somewhat disappointing. What I have to do gets prioritized and because there are so many things to do, things like my weekly blog post gets pushed to the side. I’m not sure why blogging is so important to me, but I do find some solace from writing about what’s on my mind, reflect on life’s lessons, and to pause for a moment (for me). For some reason, blogging feels like a luxury rather than a need or non-negotiable. When I get too far away from this practice, like a skipped week of reflection, I feel a bit of guilt, wonder, and anger. “Anger” might be a stretch, but a feeling that resents the idea that I am willing to park what’s important to me for something I need to do otherwise. However, this last week, I did prioritize sleep, taking a bath, and connecting with others.
I am super tired, but I had prioritized rest (or my body did). I needed to sleep to function the next day. I’ve been working 12-hour days without much cognitive willpower to get any additional work done aside from the urgent (i.e., meetings). I am hoping that I will get some work done this weekend to catch up, but the weekend is also designed for rest as well. If anything, what I have learned is, you just have to know your limit and accept the consequences, if any. Sustainability is key and I’m just not able to delve into a sequence of all-nighters (now late-nighters). ((BREAK)) I even stepped away from this blog post to watch the municipal election on TV and have take-out Chinese food. I never returned back to this blog post until 24 hours later, after having a Zoom meeting in the morning, doing laundry, lunch out with a friend, review a lesson plan for practicum, and planning/prepping for tomorrow’s class. I just finished all that, and here I am. #sad
I have a pre-conference for practicum via Zoom tonight. And, yes it was my choice. The scheduling of this meeting seemed to make sense if I wanted to make the process “fair” for all students. Admittedly, the students also have to work around my schedule as I do have one class to teach as well as meetings, research, and project work. I am left to wonder about work/life balance. I remember listening to a podcast and basically they said, there is no such thing. It’s not possible with the work that I do… and there are many other people who do similar work, but I just don’t know how they do it. There is certainly some ups and downs meaning demands for your time and timelines, but I often find that “when it rains, it pours.” I guess I could take some generous offerings from others, but I also feel like I should do my fair share too. It’s not so easy to say NO sometimes. I can certainly pick & choose where I can to ensure that I’m not feeling too overloaded.
I feel very lucky to do the work that I do, and I don’t take that for granted. I just need more time… or commit to less… and time is flying by!! I can do this… one step at a time.