Balance

Those of us who work a day job and have a second career or vocation sometimes run into problems of balance. How do you cultivate one aspect of your life without shortchanging the others? Many of my friends who write, photograph, play in a band or engage in some other passion have mentioned in passing that they have a hard time keeping the job within its proper boundaries. This seems to be especially true during tough economic times, when layoffs ensure that those still working will have more tasks and less time for them.

One of my most challenging times happened almost 15 years ago, when various events made it necessary for me to take a full-time, physically demanding job with a 2-hour daily commute. My husband and I had two kids at home at the time, and one was only 3. Not only did I miss him terribly, but I wondered if I could keep any semblance of "a life" or still move forward on long-haul goals. The job itself was pretty rote, and if not for the wonderful people there, I probably would have died of boredom during the first week.

I decided to experiment with ways to keep doing what I really wanted to do. Here's what I eventually worked out:

• First, break down all the steps towards your goal into small units that you can fit into 5, 15, or 30 minutes. Decide also what you can do during activities that seem to be time-wasters, such as commuting or waiting in lines. For example, it you're writing a novel, you can write a paragraph or read the home page of a possible publisher in five minutes; you can take your notebook (electronic or paper) with you and type away at lunch.
• Then put together a to-go kit that will allow you to do this easily. For example, if you're a writer, make sure you have your writing equipment or a pad & pen, along with copies of any notes you've made, stashed in the bag you take to work.

These simple steps are only a beginning but they'll make it more likely that you won't forget to do what you love on a daily basis.

Your job and your life (or as I think of it, your work and your Work) don't have to be mutually hostile. Over the last decade as I've worked towards re-establishing a freelance writing business and started writing fiction, I've encountered some myths about practicing an art.

One myth is the idea that if you're serious about your art (this applies to any passion, actually, not just the arts), you have a burning desire to make a full-time exclusive living out of it. If that desire is absent, you're not serious. This isn't true for me, nor for a number of writers I've met. It may not be true for you.

For some of us, the first step in living a life that feels creative, whole and integrated involves coming to terms with the fact that we like writing on a part-time basis. The second step is acknowledging that this doesn't make us any less dedicated than those who want to write full time.

The final step involves figuring out ways to let our two lives feed each other, so that our job contributes to our art, and vice versa. I'll offer some of my findings in future posts.