If we simplistically assume you can either be overworked or underworked, and do each voluntarily or involuntarily, you end up with a trusty but utterly imperfect 2×2 grid that looks like this:
And if you’re balancing any combination of family, hobbies, social life and so on, there’s probably a sweet spot in there somewhere – a balance where you get to do everything, without sacrificing too much of anything.
I’m not talking about “work-life” balance… that’s such a weird phrase to me (is work not part of life? 🤨).
Whatever the phrase, my first thought would be that there are more people striving for that balance than there are truly achieving it.
But… then I can think of someone who fits every corner of the grid above, and seem to be living a version of “balance” that works for them… or so it seems.
If I was going to set a goal, I’m aiming for that bottom-right corner (V.U)… and I ignorantly assume everyone else is too, but of course our goals are all different.
To hit the V.U corner, the quickest way I see is to simplify work to the point that wasted time is as minimal as possible – that includes eliminating things like proposals and sales calls (at least to where it’s not part of every sale); as little bookkeeping, accounting, invoicing and admin work as possible; and hyper-focused, protected time for clients.
I don’t know how to “balance” the other corners because I’ve either not had them, or not achieved a happy balance that I’d want to replicate.
I’m really keen to know where you all sit, if you’re comfortable sharing (just with me).
For self-employed creatives, normal business traps are easy to fall into and overcomplicate things - but they’re totally avoidable when flying solo.
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