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Balacing Work and Writing

I have, until recently, struggled with finding the balance between my day job and my writing career--each fighting for my prime focus, each vying for the greater slice of my day.


It was a constant battle.


That was until I discovered that balance is the key.


 

I kinda like my day job--I work in IT. Yes, it can be boring and mundane and monotonous. But it can also challenge and interest me enough to want to keep at it.


But the day job is really about making enough dosh to provide for me and my loved ones.


I also kinda like creating art. Yes, it can also be mundane and monotonous (though way less so). And the rewards--when I get a piece of art right--are streets ahead of the day job.


The art is all about the dopamine hit.


For a long time, years even, I wrestled with the idea that I could only be one or the other--an IT person or an artist/writer.


This created a lot of angst in my life. Especially when one called for more of my attention than the other.


 

I recently came across the idea of the three marriages we all have.


These are...


  • The marriage to our significant others

  • The marriage to our careers

  • The marriage to ourselves


The marriage to our significant others is the obvious one. This is the marriage to our partners, spouses, parents, close friends, children, pets--whomever is important to us.


These are the people (or animals) we do everything for. These are the relationships that keep us alive.


The marriage to our career is the knot we tie with our day jobs. This is essentially the marriage that most of the world, outside our significant others, sees.


The marriage to ourselves--our sense of self--is usually the most private. This is who we see ourselves being.


In order for us to be hale and happy, these marriages are supposed to be of equal importance. They are supposed to support each other, and not compete with each other.


 

That last idea--the marriages supporting, not competing with, each other--has helped me re-evaluate the imbalance between work and art.


I now think of my day job (my marriage to my career) as supporting my art (my marriage to my sense of self).


I grind through the day job each day. And the money I earn from that allows me to pay for a little training for my craft, allows me to host this website, allows me to not have to expend too much worry about where the next meal will come from for my loved ones.


The art I create--the stories I write--help clear my head at the end of the day, helps me open up to more creative ways to solve problems at work.


I'm now in a mindset where one aspect of my life supports and enlivens the other parts of my life.


I like to think I'm happier for it--I certainly don't fret about one marriage robbing a little time from the others occasionally.


In terms of my writing output, I think I am a little more productive too.


While I may not have a complete grasp of the three-marriages thesis, I have siphoned off enough to make my work-life-art balance a lot more manageable.


All images from pixabay

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