Fast Company Article Feb./March 1999 Joyce Jacobs

Balancing Acts: 10 Ways to Get A Life. Pages 83-90. Edited by Anna Muoio.

It's hard for me to pass up reading an article with a heading about "balancing" as that is something that I continually struggle with - being a wife, a mom, an educator, a volunteer, etc. The article begins with "Everyone wants it. Few Achieve it. Balance: It's the Holy Grail in the New World of work." The then the question is posed - "But is it even something any of us can have?" The article is made up of briefs from 10 business leaders and thinkers they interviewed to find out their thoughts on achieving balance.

The interviewees were asked to consider how they created balance in their life when there was endless business opportunities and how did they stay connected to the things that kept them "human"? And lastly, if they have gone overboard, how do you "get a life"?

My first response was - if this article has the answers to these questions, I better keep reading! Although, I think I have gotten better at the balancing act after 13 years in Extension, I know that I often loose my balance and then have to somehow gain it back. The good news/bad news scenario is that I am certainly not alone when I look around in the world of Extension - I am not the only one struggling.

Each of the interviewees makes a point that is very directed - here are some of them: v We all have choices and that there is nothing easy about making choices, but "either you make them for yourself, or they're made for you." v "Ask yourself: Is the way you're working today sustainable over the next 20 years? Then listen to your answer." v Ask an important question: "How thin can I spread myself before I'm no longer "there"?" v "To me, balance is an illusion - and to have it as a goal is self-defeating. Instead, take advantage of whatever trade-offs you can make." v "There's obviously no easy answer to the question of balance. You have to work at it. You've got to be as determined in your personal life as you are in your professional life. Don't let your work become all- consuming." v "I try to create an environment in which people know that it's okay not to be a workaholic -in which they get ahead because of their contribution, not because of the number of hours they log." v "You always know in your heart what you need to do. But you do have to ask yourself if you're willing to make choices. Put yourself in a position where you're making choices about your life, rather than letting other people make those choices for you. That's what balance is all about." v "As a leader, I find that the best thing I can do for people who work with me is to ask them what's important to them-and then to give them permission to get away from work so they can do it."

Of course this all sounds very good, but it still comes down to really being able to - or giving ourselves the permission to have balance. I have always thought that it is so ironic that Extension prides itself on having programs that strengthen families and build assets in youth (thus decreasing the number of "youth at risk"). And yet, we are often the ones that spend so much time trying to accomplish these overwhelming tasks that we put our own families and children "at risk".

I do agree that it is a choice that each of us has to make, but also know that sometimes our choices aren't well received by administration, co-workers, or Extension Committees. And when that happens, it is hard to rally support, because even if your District Director is "OK" with your choice, he or she is not the only one that has to be "OK" with it! Because we are "public" employees, there really isn't one person who has the power to grant us that "OK" - like you would have in private business where there is one "owner".

I think one of the statements that struck me was the one about "You've got to be as determined in your personal life as you are in your professional life." Even though I agree with the statement - I think that is hard to achieve. Our mid-west upbringing taught us that we should "work hard" and "family is important", but I don't remember them as ever being equal.

As I said earlier, I do think that after 13 years in Extension, I'm getting better at balancing work and family. But I do know that it is something that I will have to work at constantly, as it doesn't appear to be a skill you learn and then accomplishment follows - but more of a work in progress with the variables being always fluid.

-- Anonymous, February 03, 2000