ACQ Vol 10 No 2 2008

F rom the P resident W ork–life balance, preserving your soul – what an interesting theme, and so important to all of us. I suspect that many of us find it difficult to achieve though. Or does it depend on our definition of balance? Our profession seems to attract people who have a strong sense of respon­ sibility (if we’re going to do something, we like to do it right), a constitutional inability to say no (if we’re asked to do some­ thing, we’re likely to say yes), and an element of perfectionism (if we’re going to do something, we want it to be the best we’re capable of). I’m not suggesting that these are negative characteristics – far from it. They help us to do the best for our clients and for our profession. Our professional Associ­ ation would not function without all those who say yes when asked to contribute – at local, state or national level. Many of the people who say yes to work for the association also say yes to many other types of involvement. The saying “if you want something done, ask a busy person” is often true. Some of us may find that, at times, the work end of the balance is rather heavily weighted. This can occur for various reasons – perhaps there are increased demands in our work­ place at particular times of the year, perhaps staff illness or attrition means that we need to take on additional responsi­ bilities. And sometimes we say yes more often than we should! The potential consequences of tipping the balance too far in the direction of work are clear – stress, illness, burnout.

Are there possible consequences of erring on the “life” side of the balance? Perhaps that depends on personality, or the stage we are at in our lives. You may have a personality that is happiest at work – for you, too much “life” may not be satisfying, or you may see little difference between work and life. Your balance point will be different. For me, life stage was (and is) important – but the weighting has changed over the years. Life certainly needed to take precedence over work when my children were young – I chose to spend more time with them than at work. At this stage of my life, my children are grown, and I have much more time to devote to work. I still aim for a balance – notionally, I work only four days a week – but I do many things within my work life, and some volunteer work. I also aim to combine “work” and “life” whenever possible. Attending a conference may be work, but following it with a holiday provides the life balance! This issue of the ACQ may help you to reflect on your own work– life balance, and provide insight into how others have achieved this. Let me finish with a lyric from a song which is now close to 30 years old, but which comes close to my personal philosophy. Perhaps it is your philosophy as well. “ It’s better to burn out than it is to rust. ” – Neil Young 1979 Cori Williams

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