Should your business take over your entire life?

closeAuthor: Nadine Touzet Name: Nadine Touzet
Site: http://nadinetouzet.com/blog
About: I am a Freelance Translator & Conference InterpreterSee Authors Posts (3)

Motivation, Mindset and Wellness, The Passion Project

photo credit: Cyril Plapied

I was supposed to post this… about two weeks ago, but I was caught in such a maelstrom of work that I couldn’t even begin to write anything, my mind simply numbed.

Experts in motivation will tell you that you need to strike a balance between your work and the rest of your life. This is all very well, and I couldn’t agree more, except that I am already balancing two different lines of business, and my personal life.

My written translation business is spread ‘fairly evenly’ throughout the year. However, because I have a fairly steady trickle of small jobs, plus rather large projects that (usually) come at the same time, there are days when I feel I’m doing nothing but work.

Add busy conference interpreting “seasons,” i.e. Spring (just finishing) and Fall (from September to December, approximately), when I have to physically be out of my office some days of the week, and you get a fairly good picture of why June isn’t the most restful time of the year.

And it’s not just me. A fellow translator and I have planned to go out one evening and eat falafels for the past… 3 months. First she had to cancel because she wasn’t very well and she was working on a big, difficult translation; then it was my turn to juggle translations and conferences; now that I’m finally keeping my head above the water, she’s still busy with conferences. It must be said though, that we interpreted in the same team at two different meetings in the meantime. But… no time for falafel in the evening.

Being self-employed is one reason why it’s difficult to keep a good work/life balance, but in the present economic climate, it doesn’t do to turn down work simply to reduce the pressure, and that’s how you end up working all the time, at certain times.

Personal life?

Believe it or not, I’ve raised two children (now young adults) and although it hasn’t been simple on many counts, it was never impossible. It only took a little organizing, like getting help when they were young, getting someone to do housekeeping and ironing. When getting help means that you are earning enough to pay for that help, while doing the kind of work that really appeals to you, there’s no reason to feel ashamed about it.

So how do you do it (and keep your sanity)?

Because of my long experience with this kind of pattern, I’ve got used to ’snatching’ free time whenever I can, like visiting exhibitions or simply taking a walk in a park close to where I’m working, if I’m not working from home; watching films on weekdays, if that’s how I feel; taking naps on the couch if I had to wake up early to complete an urgent job. I remember going to the movies once, in the middle of the day, when a client only needed me for a morning and a late afternoon assignment. I don’t remember the movie itself, because I was so exhausted that I slept through most of it!

But generally you can take the pressure if you love your work, and you don’t feel bored or impatient about it.

It also helps that I work most of the time in my home, in a house with a large garden, plenty of greenery, lots of bird-chirping, the kitchen only 10 steps away. Anything that takes your mind off the pressure, lets you feel reunited with the world around you, is good. Never, for the whole world, would I trade places with someone with a long commute every day of the year, working in a cubicle, and for that comfort I’m ready to forsake a little of my work/life balance!

But everyone has their own recipe, and I’d love to hear about yours. Do you feel engulfed in your work, how do you do in terms of work/life balance?

Nadine Touzet @ June 24, 2008

closeAuthor: Nadine Touzet Name: Nadine Touzet
Site: http://nadinetouzet.com/blog
About: I am a Freelance Translator & Conference InterpreterSee Authors Posts (3)