Guest Post: Z.R. Southcombe

I'm pleased to introduce you to one of my writing friends: Z.R. Southcombe. Please enjoy this guest post from her and check out her newly released children's chapter book! -SB

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Work-life balance is a (seemingly unattainable) term that’s tossed around a lot these days. It’s easy to understand why – we all need a roof on top of our heads, and we like to live comfortably so work is important; however, our family & friends are equally important, as is our own well-being.

But what does it mean? Are we trying to spend the same amount of time on each? Is it about leaving work at work and enjoying me-time or social-time in the evenings and during weekends? Is it about having our dream house?

In a chat with another writer friend, I expressed concern that I was becoming a workaholic – she said a better way of describing it is ‘driven and passionate’. I started seeing work-life balance in a whole new light.

For me, balance has become about my priorities and the things I love doing. My priorities are my own well-being, making a contribution and lifting up people around me. I love art-making, story writing, music and the outdoors (hm, maybe I should have been born a bit earlier!).

With this in mind, I choose to spend my time on the things I love doing, the things I don’t love doing, but enable me to do my art & writing (like bookkeeping enables me to publish my work independently) and healthy, restorative activities (like going for a walk, or listening to good music).

I choose to spend time the people I love and the people who get as excited about books and reading and art as I do. I especially love people who are enthusiastic, open to learning and give things a go, because just a little push in the right direction gets them going. It’s bread and butter for my soul to see people shine the way they were made to.

And so, balance might be working stupid hours on writing, marketing and *shudder* accounting, while making time to meet with friends old & new, but it’s all stuff I love, and stuff I believe in.

What does balance mean for you?  

Z.R. Southcombe is a children’s fantasy writer and surrealist painter, but no matter what project she is currently working on, Z. R. is usually accompanied by a cup of tea.

If you found this article interesting, you can read more about writing, marketing and life on her personal blog, zeesouthcombe.com. Her children’s chapter book The Caretaker of Imagination will launch with fanfare on the 21^st of March 2015. You can join the party at zrsouthcombe.com.