Workaholics

When I began freelancing, I felt like I had to fill every inch of my calendar with work related things. The reason for this came down to a few things, the fear of not knowing when the next income was coming so saying yes to every opportunity, feeling the need to prove to people I was busy/successful and guilt when I was not working. It was only after the constant burnout that I realised I could actually give myself breaks and that saying no does not end your career.  

Work/ life balance is talked about a lot but not necessarily achieved. It’s difficult with aerial work to figure this out because it can be so irregular. The trap with this is that gaps in a calendar can be filled by working/ training/ planning things that can turn into work in the future and not actually taking a break. I know I used to feel guilty on, for example a mid-week morning, for having a lie in when I felt everyone else was busy working. Therefore, freelance can turn into a bit of a prison if you don’t let yourself have a day off.  

A rest day is also not something you have to ‘earn’. You don’t have to exhaust yourself to earn a break. Your plan to take time off doesnt need to be approved by others. You don’t have to prove its validity to anyone.

So many things can get in the way of a work/life balance, and we aren’t excluded because our work is ‘different’ to a 9-5. Having some of the ‘life’ bit doesn’t make us less likely to achieve an aerilaists career. We shouldn’t feel shame about days off and aerial-free holidays. No sneaking in aerial technique books on the beach or home conditioning plans. We can have a complete BREAK from it all, it is GOOD for us and it does not make us less committed to our career.

Who struggles with time off and leaving space for breaks in the calendar?