Photo Elsa Noblet
I am one of the lucky ones who has fallen in love with her job.
I am a freelance host, model and actor and for me, every day is different, exciting and rewarding.
But it’s still work. I have to be ‘on’ all of the time, I have to keep up my physical appearance and have to always maintain my cheery, sunshine-y attitude. I also have to go out and cast for jobs because once I’ve finished a booking, I am unemploye d until I book the next one!
Over the last month or so, my mother has been staying with us and helping out tremendously with childcare. This allowed my husband and myself to work like crazy. We were bouncing around our state like ping pongs and passing each other like two ships in the night. This was great for our bottom line and my mom did an amazing job with the kids but it started to wear on me, big time.
I was missing my kids, missing chances to help them out with homework or prepare them for the next day of school. Weekends were passing with me on the road and the kids hanging around at home, living a life without me. I was out of balance.
It’s weird because I do have what I always wanted and that’s a bustling, rewarding career and steady income. Now that I have it, I am realizing that, in order to maintain it, I have to be a mom-in-absentia.
I got to thinking about this post and how we can coexist with that delicate balance that we have to strike between work and life.
It starts with a good budget
I mean a good budget. One that you can stick to, live within and maintain. Have you ever noticed that when you’re making more money, your expenses go up? It’s a phenomenon in the world of personal finance and it happens to all of us. Sticking to a budget helps us say no, not only to things you don’t need but to jobs you may not have to take.
I’m not trying to talk you or myself out of work, believe me. But living within the budget helps alleviate the feeling that you have to grasp every job and feel guilty when you’re not working.
It continues with scheduling
Chorus concert coming up? Put it on the schedule. Walking the dog with the kids? Hit up the ol’ schedule. Share your schedule with your partner and your kids. Keep those lines of communication open so you don’t miss the important stuff. My daughter did have a chorus concert coming up and it was on my schedule for about a month. I kept skirting jobs around that date. I told myself that I would be there, even if it meant not taking a job or asking to be out of a job at a certain time (which really doesn’t happen in my industry…it’s pretty much when you’re wrapped, you’re wrapped). I made it. I was at the concert and it was awesome.
It ends with ‘you can’t do it all’
I listen to a lot of Abraham Hicks (law of attraction stuff) talks on Youtube and one thing she always says is…you’ll never get it all done. It takes hearing that phrase many times before it really sinks in. She means all of it…the house, the kids, the goals, the dreams and aspirations. Every time you get to where you think you want to be, you want more or you want less, for that matter. The point is it’s not done until we’re dead so stop beating yourself up about not accomplishing what you set out to do in a day, week, month…it will all be there waiting for you and you may even find that some things just don’t matter to you anymore.
I wish I had concrete answers for you and I wish that I can report to you from a place where I’ve figured all of this out. I do not and I cannot. What I can tell you is that I do coexist with a demanding work schedule and a patiently-waiting family and they both want and need my attention to grow and flourish in the way that I see in my dreams. I am trying and I know you are, too. Let’s keep going forward, forward, forward and let’s try to enjoy ourselves in the process.
Leslie Lynn Nifoussi is a mom of two who thoroughly enjoys her assortment of jobs as a blogger, model, media host, commercial actor and beauty and fashion contributor for HSN. She’s a former small business owner and professional dancer and is eager to share her life’s experiences with you.
Read Leslie Lynn Nifoussi's 'How To Coexist With' Series
How To Coexist With Your Past
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