Stop chasing work-life balance
The term ‘work-life balance’ implies work and life are opposing forces. That you’re either working (bad) or living (good).
That mindset can be damaging … we beat ourselves up if we don’t get ‘a balance’.
This article is about the problem trying to get that perfect balance.
The problem with balance
Balance suggests equal weight on both sides but creative work isn’t like that. Sometimes a project needs intense focus and energy. Other times you need space for ideas to percolate.
Most of us know this instinctively. The best ideas rarely come from sitting at a desk from 9-5. They come in the shower, on a walk, or during the car trip home.
Yet we try to squash creativity into neat time blocks.
Encourage your designers to take a long lunch break to visit the local book store or better still a gallery — it feeds their creativity.
What to chase instead
The most successful studios we work with don’t pursue balance – they pursue rhythm.
Rhythm acknowledges there are natural ebbs and flows in creative work. Sometimes you need to go hard, other times you need to rest. The key is finding your studio’s natural cadence.
This might mean:
- intense project sprints followed by recovery time
- core collaboration hours with flexible start/finish times
- four-day work weeks during quiet periods and full time when you’re busy
- meeting-free days for deep creative work.
The benefits of rhythm
Understanding a person’s and a studio’s optimum rhythm can improve:
- creative output – because ideas have time to develop
- productivity – because energy is managed, not just time
- well being – because everyone is working with their natural cycles
- sustainability – because burnout is reduced
- reliability – because client expectations are better met.
How to start working to a rhythm
Start by tracking your studio’s natural energy patterns:
- when are people most creative?
- when do you need collaborative time?
- when does energy naturally dip?
- what external factors affect your rhythm?
Use this information to structure your work patterns, not fight them.
So what?
Stop feeling guilty about not achieving perfect work-life balance. Instead, focus on finding and maintaining you and your studio’s natural rhythm. It’s more sustainable, more productive, and ultimately, more creative.
If this is how you’d like to run your studio and your life, you’d be interested in our How to build a great creative business, good for people and profits half day workshop. It’s a deep-dive on all of this, with the aim of building a sustainable, purpose-driven business. Good for team wellbeing and financial success.
Carol Mackay
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About Carol Mackay
After 30+ years running a design studio, I accumulated a pretty special network of fellow designers. One thing most have in common: a need for more information about the ‘business’ side of design. Most are impatient with any task competing for time spent doing what they love – designing so they wanted more info about how to work more efficiently and effectively.
Not me. I love that intersection between design and business. I built a career working with Ombudsman schemes, the Emergency Services sector and the Courts. My special power has always been an ability to use design to translate the difficult to understand or the unpalatable message.
I now use exactly the same skills with creative business owners. I translate the indigestible into bite-sized chunks of information. I share insights, introduce tools and embed processes to help others build confidence business decision-making skills. More confidence makes it easier to grasp opportunities. More confidence makes it easier to recognise a good client from the bad.
Outside DBC I have mentored with Womentor, AGDA The Aunties, and most recently Regional Arts NSW.
And I’m a proud volunteer and board member of Never Not Creative.
Always happy to chat, I can be contacted here.
