Work-Life Balance: A Priority That’s Worth the Effort

2011 was an absolutely incredible year for me – I got married, had a baby, and went off to work for myself, among other wonderful milestones both professional and personal. It’s everything I’ve ever wanted, and it’s just incredible.

It’s also really, really hard.

I don’t mean the responsibilities of marriage or fatherhood, nor the challenges of being self-employed – each of which, as you can imagine, require a significant investment of time and effort (not to mention abandoning any previously-held notions of sleep). No, the hardest thing for me is simply the balancing act of managing everything in my life, all under the same roof.

I have the pleasure of working out of my home office, as well as taking care of our adorable baby girl with my incredible wife, who is also home on her maternity leave. The line between work and home is not just blurred – it simply does not exist. I’m keeping all of the plates spinning, but man – it’s been an adjustment to say the least!

The fact is, I’m a workaholic; I could very easily spend all day and all night toiling on this crazy concept of building the only New York City corporate team building company specializing exclusively in live trivia events. It’s my original baby, yet now it’s got company. One minute I’m fact-checking pop culture trivia questions, the next I’m getting puked on by the cutest little creature on earth; no sooner do I start a conference call with a client when UPS rings the buzzer, delivering yet another package from the Gods at Diapers.com. Working from home is no joke when you’re playing Mr. Mom.

But you know what? I wouldn’t give this up for anything!

I am easily the luckiest guy on earth. Not only do I get to wake up every day and do what I love most – creating experiences for others to enjoy – but I get to do it in the company of my wife and child, for who’s sake I’m working so hard anyway. There’s no more “going to work” for me in the traditional sense; my commute is about 10 feet, and the dress code is quite relaxed. I eat lunch on my own couch, and get to peel myself away from the grind to have staring contests with the baby any time I want.

It’s been a significant mental shift, and has taken quite a bit of patience and flexibility to get the hang of this new work/life reality.

And it’s worth it.

Have a terrific weekend, everybody! Will be back with a special President’s Day blog post on Monday.