I’ve been hearing about “work-life balance” my entire adult life. The idea is simple: manage your time, energy, and priorities so work commitments don’t interfere with personal well-being, relationships, health, and leisure. Every article, every wellness expert, seems to say the same thing.
But I want to offer a different perspective, one that goes beyond balancing hours and instead focuses on something much more meaningful.
After years as an entrepreneur, constantly trying to maintain some sense of balance while also dealing with the guilt that comes with never feeling like I was doing enough at home, I discovered something more valuable than the traditional work-life balance approach. It wasn’t about making sure I spent an equal number of hours at work and at home. That kind of balance is a myth. Instead, it was about making the time I did have truly count.
Let’s be honest, we can be physically present at home, or somewhere else with our loved ones, while being mentally and emotionally somewhere else. We’re checked out. Our thoughts are focused on work, emails, deadlines, and problems. That’s not balance. That’s just putting hours into different buckets, and that wasn’t making a difference. I realized that even when I couldn’t be home as much as I wanted, the time I did have could be more intentional and more meaningful.
Let me tell you when everything changed for me.
Read the full Entrepreneur Magazine article: I Thought I Was a Present Dad – Then Two Moments Changed My Perspective on Work-Life Balance.