WHY I DITCHED WORK-LIFE BALANCE (AND FOUND SOMETHING BETTER)

There is this mythical beast we have all been fed: work-life balance.

It sounds noble, doesn’t it? Like something we should want. A perfectly curated schedule where everything fits just so. Career ticking along beautifully, relationships nurtured, kids thriving, your inbox tamed, your nails done, your nervous system intact…such a Pinterest board of a life.

No one tells you that balance is a buzzword that often leads to burnout. I should know because I chased it pretty darn hard. For years, I believed that if I could just crack the code and find that one planner layout, or the right meditation app, I could somehow master the art of balance. That elusive 50/50 split between work and home, hustle and stillness, ambition and peace. Guess what, I never found it. What I found instead was stress, guilt, and a creeping sense of failure that no matter how much I got done, it was never quite enough. So, I threw out the whole idea.

I started living in seasons. Some weeks, I am in full growth mode, strategy, meetings, late nights, zero apologies. Other times, I pull back and let rest take the lead without pretending to be available when I am not and I have stopped explaining why I need space, and I stop trying to balance it all, all the time. I let my focus tilt, deliberately and prioritise what needs me most in that moment, not what ticks all the boxes evenly.

The freedom is delicious.

It is not a lack of structure, it is being in tune with my own energy, my business cycles. Balance used to feel like this tightrope I had to walk, holding everything with the same tension. It demanded equal attention to every domain of my life, every day, every week. But life doesn’t work that way, neither does energy, neither does ambition. Trying to keep everything “balanced” is exhausting. Now, I give myself permission to go deep into work when I am building, and just as deep into solitude or family when that’s what is needed. I let go of symmetry and embraced intentional tilt.

My biggest shift has been that I let my intuition guide what matters most right now. Not the to-do list, not the guilt, not what others think I should be doing. Some weeks, that looks like long workdays, barely-there social plans, and Uber Eats on repeat. Other weeks, I am walking in nature, baking bread (okay, metaphorically), reading for hours, and replying to emails at a glacial pace. The point is, I stopped trying to do it all at once, I stopped striving for that curated version of balance and instead, started living.

If you have been chasing balance like a finish line, can I suggest that maybe it is not about balance at all. Maybe it is about the pulse, the kind that moves and shifts with your real life, the kind that honours your ambition and your nervous system. The kind that allows you to be powerful without pretending to be perfect. When you stop chasing balance, you start choosing what matters and that is when it all changes.

Are you still chasing balance, or have you found your cadence? Let’s redefine what having it all looks like, and maybe, just maybe, give ourselves permission to stop juggling and start living.