I’ve been tagged! Oh my, I wonder if this means it’s hunting season for unemployed Instructional Designers. Perhaps that’s a good thing…

I was tagged by Laughing Muse from Title Deleted for Security Reasons with a meme started by Lillie at A Writer’s Words, an Editor’s Eye:. To participate, write a post about balance in life and link back to this post. Answer any or all of the following questions or simply share your thoughts about life balance.

It’s interesting that this plopped on my blog-step just days into my unemployment. Why did I quit? Well, there’s a myriad of reasons, but one of the best is that I’m in desperate need of a better work/life balance. What does that mean? I’m not sure. I just know I’m desperate to work fewer hours, spend more time with my husband, and make more connections in my community.

At the moment, I’m balancing the anxiety of being unemployed with the need to be a better wife. I’m re-learning to cook, caring for my cats and dogs, writing, sleeping, reading, and trying to get rid of some of this excess weight.

How do you achieve balance in your life? As soon as I figure that out, I’ll let you in on the secret.

What is your biggest challenge in balancing your life? Learning to say no. One of my biggest problems from a work standpoint was that I had a lot of difficulty saying no to crazy deadlines and walking away after an 8-10 hour day. Many times I nearly killed myself working a series of 16-18 hour days just to meet deadlines and ensure that I never failed at a meeting a project deadline. Sure, I developed a reputation for being the “go-to” girl when a difficult project needed to be completed on a tight timeline, but I had no semblance of a social life. I’ve had the same issues in my personal life.

What are your priorities? Right now they’re simple. Family. Friends. Community. Work. I want to improve my sleeping habits, spend time volunteering in my community (preferably in an adult literacy program), go back to school and finish a few degrees, learn to play dad’s bagpipes, spend more time with my husband, cook, read, and write.

How have your priorities changed over time and why? I am a recovering workaholic. See, the first step to recovery is admission. My world revolved around work, work and more work. When I wasn’t working, I was thinking about work, reading papers and texts relating to work, talking about work, and planning what to do next at work. Finally I’ve grown up. I’m trying to take a step back from the work world and take a moment to relax – perhaps smelling a few flowers along the way. I’m actively looking for new employment since I can’t be unemployed forever. I’ve got a mortgage to pay and all that. On the other hand, I’m being more selective about where I’m applying and the types of jobs I’m considering.

What advice can you share to help all of us balance our own lives? Ha! If I knew the answer to that, perhaps I’d never have allowed myself to get into the situation I’m in now. I think it’s important to know your own limits and to set limits around the time you’re spending on things you do to survive (work, etc.) versus things you do to live (relax, hobbies). Now all I need to do is figure out what my limits are and put it all into practice…

Now it’s my turn to tag five other people. Unfortunately, some of my intended victims have already been tagged. I’ll need to dig deep and beg forgiveness from my new blogging friends for tagging them. It’s always better to beg forgiveness than ask permission. I’m tagging

• Joy T at A Spot of T. She’s going in for surgery and won’t be posting for a while. Don’t expect to see her answers for a few weeks.
• Caylynn at Caylynn’s Contemplations. Us military spouses have got to stick together.
• Haley-O at The Cheaty Monkey. Haley-O just rocks!
• Daisy Mae Maus at DaisyMae Maus & the Feline Americans. I always want to know what the kitties are thinking.
• Christine D’Abo at …Fantasies Unleashed. Fellow Maritimer and an author to boot!

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