A few thoughts on "work-life balance"

The strange draw of SANS SERIF CAPS

As of this month I'm halfway through my Master's program, and I've been thinking a bit more about what comes afterward. People have already started to ask what industries and companies I'm interested in, but those aren't quite the right questions for me. Where I apply myself is important, but so is how I go about it.

I just revisited Lotte Bailyn is Redefining the Rules of Work and Family, which is a worthwhile read. Here's the hook:

Lotte Bailyn hates the phrase work–life balance. “Work–life” implies that the two exist in separate spheres. And “balance” implies that there’s a trade-off to be made.

Maybe that sounds too close to "you can have it all," which most people recognize as too idealistic, but I think there's an important point here. The goal shouldn't be to find a satisficing middle ground that gives up a little from here and a little from there. The goal should be to structure your life in a way that's sustainable, enjoyable, and fulfilling.

A passage from the article:

We also sought to identify the “heroes” in the organization. Typically, they were people who came to a meeting with a problem, and then came up with a solution to that problem. In other words, they were heroes even if they had created the problem in the first place. In this type of system, nobody received any kudos for preventing a problem. We could show that business units were getting into crisis mode, running from one problem to the next, because nobody wanted to take the time to plan and be proactive in a system where individual heroics were rewarded.

Right now, I envision myself being happiest employed in a place with the right incentives that allows for some degree of that proactive exploration and continuous learning. I'm most fulfilled at work when I have the chance to try things out, tinker with existing processes, and learn about new ways of doing things. I'd enjoy working on projects in high-functioning teams whose members can push one another toward excellence. However, that doesn't mean I should immediately disregard future opportunities that don't check all those boxes.

When it comes to my future career, I think I could be happy doing routine day-to-day operational work provided that it's impactful and not so demanding that I wouldn't have the energy to learn and grow outside of work. I could also be happy doing something very challenging and demanding so long as it provided an opportunity for creativity and success. I could also be happy doing something personally meaningful that I could share with family and friends.

My goal, then, is to remember these values as I explore future opportunities, and to come up with my own set of right reasons for making decisions.