Getting Real About Finding Balance
An authentic, casual conversation about navigating a good work-life balance with Leigh Solomon Pugliano and Alex Bernstein.
Finding balance between your job and life can seem like an impossible goal. Juggling personal relationships, outside activities, and keeping up with coworkers can be a lot to handle. However, with the lines between work and home blurring even more these past two years, it’s important to take a step back and assess one’s mental state. Yes, this means not being glued to your laptop after 5 PM or checking your inbox at ungodly hours. Remember: the quality of your work and the success of your business are a direct reflection of how you’re feeling.
For our latest installment of Real Talk, we spoke with two local entrepreneurs, Leigh Solomon Pugliano, Founder and Principal Consultant at Straightforward Consulting, and Alex Bernstein, President and Director of Finance & Business Development at ASCEND Climbing. Conversations ranged from party planning to working late nights and so much more (check out the entire chat below). There are a lot of strategies to navigating your individual work-life balance. Still, the main themes that popped up during our talk were making a real effort to compartmentalize work and personal life and intentionally scheduling time for the things that matter most.
Here are some of our favorite quotes from Real Talk:
- “You have to plan your joy. Put your joy on the calendar. Whatever it is, I make sure to put it on the calendar to make sure I make time.” — Leigh
- “It’s going to be different for everybody. But what works for me is knowing what is best [to work on] at what time of day.” — Alex
- “It’s important for people to create the things that work best for them.” — Leigh
- “Your gas tank is only so big, and quite frankly, the emptier it gets, the harder it is to refill it.”—Alex
- “One thing I definitely do is live by my values and the values that I’ve set for my businesses and organizations.” — Leigh
- “It’s okay to say, ‘I’ve got a pretty packed day. Can I get back to you tomorrow?’ As opposed to feeling some sort of urgency with a coworker or boss.” — Alex
- “Not every idea is what you’re going to make a business out of; or what’s going to be your professional work. If you spend some time thinking about the things that bring you the most joy and what it would look like to present them out into the world, then you have a good chance of making that your life’s work.” — Leigh
- “Sometimes, I just need to get up and walk to the other side of the room and say, ‘It’s not that important. Don’t be so hard on yourself.’”—Alex
- “Even though there are certain things that I’m really passionate about and I appreciate them, they are more in the hobby realm than the thing I want to pursue long term.” — Alex
- “The thing that has gotten me through all of the work that I’ve done . . . really is gratitude. I just always take a moment to be grateful. I have to have gratitude, and I have to have grace.”—Leigh
Watch the full conversation with Leigh and Alex below.
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