When I came up with the idea of creating a website in 2012, I had the intention of creating a space where career-life balance reigned supreme. It was easy for me to consider balancing because my family obligations really only included a workaholic partner that needed some balancing himself. However in 2013, a life changing event happened & put this whole idea of creating a career-life balance out of sync. I found myself integrating my work into different facets of my life not only out of need but also want! I wanted to be able to care for a family while checking work related emails without guilt. I was doing laundry or washing dishes while coaching a colleague on “customer related issues” & “how to fix them”. I was no longer living this “career-life balance” because those two worlds were no longer as clearly defined. I was doing something else….I was blending! No longer was my career goals separate from my family obligations. And quite frankly, I didn’t want it to be. As I am writing this post, I look at my little one, who’s at the foot of my bed, playing with her hands as she coos and gurgles. This is the reality of my life! I no longer felt guilty because integrating my career into my lifestyle allowed me to be more productive. My life had meaning and my career goals had purpose.
So I have embraced the career-life blend. In essence, I was doing that anyways! My three legs, which include: my personal (family, friends), career (work) and community (networking) are important parts to balancing my life. Integrating all these parts are important to a successful healthy blend.
Some people may ask: But Rashida how can you integrate these three parts and develop a blend without neglecting or leaving someone/something out?
In today’s career culture, it is often easy to get lost in work and forget or even feel overwhelmed by life’s responsibilities such as family or friends. I know I am not alone in my sentiment. Finding a good blend of career and life is an ongoing process. It’s not something that I believe happens overnight. It takes empowering yourselves with the best tools available in order to make the best life choice possible. My blog’s mission is to empower young professionals to have a healthy career-life blend. Achieving a blend does not always mean 50/50 but balanced enough that you can effectively manage different aspects of your life and feel content with it.