If you’re a regular reader of Life In Charge, you probably noticed that there was no weekly post for the previous two weeks.

After 74 weeks of posting without a rest, I took a break.  After all, I want to make sure I am modeling a healthy work/life balance :)

Many of you know that I have been working with a startup for the past year and a half, and I was able to transition to full time there as of the beginning of this month.  I quit my other day job, so now I can focus my efforts on the startup and Life In Charge.

I’ve had lots of ideas for things that I want to do with Life In Charge, but I was juggling too much to make it happen.  I was barely keeping up with the weekly posts at times, which means the quality of the posts was suffering as well.  Hopefully in the coming months I’ll be able to provide better value to my readers.

One of the things this break has taught me is that sometimes it’s better to set down a ball (as in, one of the ones you are juggling) rather than dropping it.  Even if you are confident that you won’t drop it, sometimes it’s good to take a break anyway.  I’ve talked about the importance of rest before, and it’s definitely something that you have to be intentional about.  If you don’t schedule rest, you’ll just keep going until you burn out.  And nobody wants that!

So when you are planning your schedule, make sure you put some time for rest in there.  And tell your best friend to keep you accountable — make sure you aren’t doing work during rest time.

Some people (like me) find it easier to rest when they feel like the work is all done.  That might be feasible if you are talking about homework, but in the real world, the work never ends.  It takes many forms, ranging from job-related tasks, to household chores, to errands, and so on.

Ultimately, you have to embrace the fact that there will always be more things to do, and respond appropriately.

In my view, that means setting reasonable boundaries for yourself.  If work isn’t the most important thing in your life, you shouldn’t let it overwhelm you.  Make time for your family and friends first, and then fill in the rest with work.  If you make time for work first, you’ll find there isn’t much left for friends and family.  My friend Kyle shared an illustration about filling a jar with pebbles and sand that demonstrates this concept.

The way to finish strong is to pace yourself.  We must remind ourselves that life is a marathon, not a sprint.  Breaks are acceptable and encouraged.  There will be times to speed up, just as there are times to slow down.  Don’t neglect the slowdowns.  Make sure you can finish strong.

At any rate, I hope today’s musings have been helpful or interesting.  I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.