“Life is a balance of holding on and letting go.” - Rumi

Balance is hard for anyone pursuing a life worth living. Juggling professional and personal demands and dreams is perhaps the toughest life lesson. Especially today: the world has gotten faster and more demanding. Technology is both an enabler and a task master that elevates expectations for speed and multiplies distractions.

International Women’s Day is a good time to reflect on how we can increase balance in life. Would it surprise you to know that in the U.S., women do almost twice as much unpaid work as men? On average, almost 4.5 hours a day. That is on top of paid work hours of a job; plus squeeze in meals, sleep and if you are lucky, some things you love to do! You start to see the dilemma of finding balance when what you really need to do is find extra time!

As a partner at GHJ, I am proud of our Firm’s commitment to the balance each individual seeks, which includes self-care. We are featuring a new campaign that highlights the diversity of passions our people enjoy at work and outside the office. These passions are core to seeking balance.

The best tools I know for maintaining a sense of balance are goals. When I set priorities for my career, family and my own self-care, I know what I can commit to and what must get my unapologetic “no.” It is a critical leadership skill to learn. Saying “no” to what is not a priority, is saying “yes” to what is.

We call that balance our #BeMore approach to life. Encouraging employees to find their balance of self-care, family time and passion for their career is what makes us unique. We believe having a team of folks who are well rounded, less stressed and able to pursue their dreams accelerates the quality of work we can provide our clients. Do not get me wrong – we do not work less; but in fact we work with more intention and a higher quality output. That’s how we roll.