the problem with work-life balance

The concept of work-life balance is built on a flawed premise. Everything is “life” — our jobs, our relationships, our free time. When we juxtapose work and life, we’re treating work differently, as if it’s somehow separate; the opposite of what we are going going for. If we are striving for balance, the goal should be how to best integrate work into our life. The purpose of “balance” is to seek nourishment and self care. And the only way to get real nourishment is to identify how each thing/activity in our lives contributes to our growth and sustenance. When we are focused on gaining nourishment from everything we do, the concept of work-life balance becomes less necessary. Instead we focus on engaging in life and seeking the most nourishment from every part of it — work, personal, and everything in between.