Shows
Work-Life Balance Confessions: Stories and Tips to Enlighten and Inspire How to Juggle What Matters51: On Autism, Conscientiousness, Self-Acceptance, and the Pursuit of Work-Life Balance as a Neurodivergent Person in a Neurotypical World - Helen Jeffries' StoryI'm sorry to say that I've had to include a trigger warning at the start of this podcast episode, to warn listeners that some of the themes touched on throughout my recorded conversation with Helen Jeffries - a Senior Civil Servant in the UK Government, a prolific blogger on autism, a Trustee for the charity Ambitious about Autism, and an accomplished musician - are of a heavy nature, including a discussion on suicide.Herself autistic, Helen's work-life balance story is told through the lens of someone that lives and works with autism. And the...
2025-07-231h 04
Work-Life Balance Confessions: Stories and Tips to Enlighten and Inspire How to Juggle What Matters50: Celebrating the Podcast's 50th Episode - Top Three Work-Life Balance Lessons, Listener Confessions and Surprise Guest AppearancesWhat do turning 4 and hitting 50 have in common?Together they mean that the podcast A Fine Balance: Work-Life Balance Confessions is officially old enough to contain some wisdom, but still in its infancy and curious to learn more.This month not only marks the podcast’s 4th birthday, but also the major milestone of its 50th episode.To celebrate, we’ve pulled out all the stops with a special 50th episode, which includes:✨ Special guest appearances📢 Listener work-life balance confessions📈 A co...
2025-07-071h 01
Work-Life Balance Confessions: Stories and Tips to Enlighten and Inspire How to Juggle What Matters49: On Accountancy, Regaining Balance After Heartbreak, and the Power of a Good Night's Sleep - Victoria Mortimer's StoryIn this episode of 'A Fine Balance Work-Life Balance Confessions', I'm joined by Victoria Mortimer, a finance director and life coach, to talk about the intricacies of work-life balance from the perspective of the accountancy profession. We explore the juggles of personal finance management, emotional well-being, and the importance of open communication in relationships. Victoria shares her journey from a demanding corporate job to finding fulfilment in a balanced life, emphasising the emotional aspects of money management and the significance of self-reliance. The conversation highlights the fluidity of balance...
2025-06-091h 07
Work-Life Balance Confessions: Stories and Tips to Enlighten and Inspire How to Juggle What Matters48: The Pursuit of Balance When You're Grieving - Work, Life, Balance Lesson #13They say that there are only two sure things in life: death and taxes.So given that death, and coming to terms with loss, is something that we will all encounter at some point in our lives, thinking about the interplay between bereavement and work-life balance seems like an essential, albeit difficult, thing to talk about.In this solo episode of "A Fine Balance:Work-Life Balance Confessions", I broach the subject in a stripped back, simple way, different to my usual “Work, Life, Balance Lessons” format. Because what can...
2025-05-2832 min
Work-Life Balance Confessions: Stories and Tips to Enlighten and Inspire How to Juggle What Matters47: On Legacy, Purpose, and Finding Work-Life Balance When You're Working as a Politician and Elected OfficialIn this episode, I sit down with Johnson Situ, a political advisor and diplomat who has dedicated his career to politics and public service. He also happens to be the first politician that I've hosted on this podcast, so I took full advantage of asking him all about what it takes to pursue a work-life balance when you're an elected public figure, and when your work is driven so strongly by your ideals, beliefs and values. Are you always on the clock? I'm pleased to say that I got...
2025-05-1454 min
Work-Life Balance Confessions: Stories and Tips to Enlighten and Inspire How to Juggle What Matters46: How to Find Work-Life Balance When You Feel Judged - Work, Life, Balance Lesson #12Do you ever feel judged for how you balance work with everything else in life? Or feel that people's judgments about you at work or in your personal life impacts on your overall sense of balance? If so, you are not alone. In this episode, I explore some of the real-life examples shared on the blog and podcast of how people have described responding to feeling judged, and the impact it has on their work-life balance choices. The intention, as always, is to celebrate...
2025-05-0743 min
Work-Life Balance Confessions: Stories and Tips to Enlighten and Inspire How to Juggle What Matters45: On Infertility Struggles, Undesired Childlessness, and How to Regain Balance and Find Your Purpose When You Find Yourself in Unexpected CircumstancesHave you ever found yourself on a life or career path that took you completely by surprise? When a plan you’d mapped out so clearly in your head didn’t unfold the way you’d imagined — or hoped — it would?Well, my guest in this podcast episode, Lana Manikowski, is no stranger to that kind of turning point. So much so, that she’s written a book entitled So Now What?, and hosts a podcast of the same name, which charts her experience of coming to terms with a reality vastly different from the one she’...
2025-04-231h 07
Work-Life Balance Confessions: Stories and Tips to Enlighten and Inspire How to Juggle What Matters44: Time-Management Tips to Improve Your Work-Life Balance - Work, Life, Balance Lesson #11Creating a meal-planner often comes up in podcast conversations as the 'gold standard' of time-management. Plan what you and your family are going to eat every day of the week, shop and prepare accordingly, and sorted: you've truly got your life together. I'm not knocking it. It's a great, simple technique that anyone can adopt to save and organise your time. But here’s the thing—not everyone does it.In this Work, Life, Balance Lesson episode, we dig into why people make the time-management choices they do—and how those choices impact their...
2025-04-0749 min
Work-Life Balance Confessions: Stories and Tips to Enlighten and Inspire How to Juggle What Matters43: On Climbing the Career Ladder When You Haven’t Gone to University, and Single Motherhood When You're Co-Parenting Following an Acrimonious DivorceIn this anonymous work-life balance confession, I share the story of "Susan" (not her real name) who revealed in a confidential interview the emotional and financial struggles she contends with in pursuit of her balance between work and everything else in life.I share Susan's story of the crushing pressure of managing life on her own, with inadequate financial support from her ex-husband and the weight of constantly putting on a brave face for her kids.Her story is one of hidden anxiety, self-doubt, and the deep desire to break the cycles of...
2025-03-1828 min
Work-Life Balance Confessions: Stories and Tips to Enlighten and Inspire How to Juggle What Matters42: How Harnessing Gratitude Can Improve Work-Life Balance - Work, Life, Balance Lesson #10In this episode, I dive into the lessons I've learned about the transformative power of gratitude and its profoundly positive impact on work-life balance. Drawing from the real-life experiences of past podcast guests, I explore how cultivating gratitude has shaped their perspectives, helping them find greater balance between work and everything else in life, and enhancing their overall well-being. From journaling and meditation, to mindful habits like appreciating the world around them during daily commutes, this Work, Life, Balance Lesson episode uncovers some of the diverse ways that gratitude can be harnessed within a work-life...
2025-03-0533 min
Work-Life Balance Confessions: Stories and Tips to Enlighten and Inspire How to Juggle What Matters41: On Being a Primary-Caring Father, Juggling Work and Home Life With Creativity and Patience, and Finding Work-Life Balance as a Self-Employed GardenerIn this episode, self-employed gardener Joe Roukin, otherwise known as Mr Plant Whisperer, joins me for a candid conversation about his experience as a married dad of two who is the primary carer in his family. Joe shares his unique perspective on how to strike the right balance between staying organised and ‘going with the flow’, while tackling work-life pressures with a problem-solving mindset.He opens up about the role that patience plays in his pursuit of balance, and the effectiveness of sometimes "biting your tongue" to avoid conflict, especially when juggling career pursuits and fami...
2025-02-241h 17
Work-Life Balance Confessions: Stories and Tips to Enlighten and Inspire How to Juggle What Matters40: How to Find a Work-Life Balance by Working More - Work, Life, Balance Lesson #9The rhetoric around work-life balance is often twinned with messaging around self-care and well-being.And whilst it's true that the end result of improving your work-life balance is usually an enhanced sense of well-being, there are many ways in which a person can get to that point.And one of those that this episode addresses is working more.Yes, you read that correctly: this episode explores how you can improve your work-life balance by INCREASING your work load. In t...
2025-02-1228 min
Work-Life Balance Confessions: Stories and Tips to Enlighten and Inspire How to Juggle What Matters40: How to Find a Work-Life Balance by Working MoreThe rhetoric around work-life balance is often twinned with messaging around self-care and well-being.And whilst it's true that the end result of improving your work-life balance is usually an enhanced sense of well-being, there are many ways in which a person can get to that point.And one of those that this episode addresses is working more.Yes, you read that correctly: this episode explores how you can improve your work-life balance by INCREASING your work load. In this episode I share some real life examples of people who have d...
2025-02-1230 min
Work-Life Balance Confessions: Stories and Tips to Enlighten and Inspire How to Juggle What Matters39: Finding a Work-Life Balance When The 'To Do' List is Never Done: Kerry's Story on Solo Motherhood, Job-Sharing and the Lure of the Expatriate LifestyleThis solo episode is dedicated to an anonymous "Work-Life Balance Confession" of a woman named Kerry (*not her real name), who did not want to reveal her identity. Kerry's work-life balance story originally featured on the blog, and centred on the themes of finding a work-life balance when: 📋You have a never-ending ‘to-do list’ 🤰You're a solo parent (Kerry pursued IVF with a sperm donor, so is raising her son independently)🧑🧒You have a child with additional needs 💯You're a Perfectionist👯♀️You're in a job-share
2025-01-3037 min
Work-Life Balance Confessions: Stories and Tips to Enlighten and Inspire How to Juggle What Matters38: How to Find a Work-Life Balance When You're a Perfectionist - Work, Life, Balance Lesson #8Perfectionism is often seen as a hindrance to work-lifebalance. After all, the dictionary defines a perfectionist as someone "not satisfied with anything less than perfect" - a mindset that can easily lead to burnout.In this episode, I explore insights from podcast interviewswhere perfectionism (or the lack of it) has come up. I’ll share the key lessons I've learned along the way, including:⭐️ 3 essential work-life balance take-aways from people who describe resisting perfectionism⭐️ Practical strategies for perfectionists to strike a healthier balance⭐️ Real-life examples of how perfectionism can both hinder and enhance wor...
2025-01-2125 min
Work-Life Balance Confessions: Stories and Tips to Enlighten and Inspire How to Juggle What Matters37: On the Hidden Impact of Debt, Body Image Struggles, and Being "Replaceable" on Work-Life Balance – Lorna's StoryIn this episode of A Fine Balance, we explore some serious life challenges that can impact a person's work-life balance, through the personal story of my guest Lorna McKenna.
Lorna works full-time in local government, alongside running her passion project of coaching and hosting a personal development podcast called "Evolve & Expand". She is also expecting her first child so is on the cusp of some pretty seismic changes in 2025.
Throughout our conversation, we cover:
💰Lorna's personal journey through debt - the anxiety and shame that came with it, and how it...
2025-01-101h 07
Work-Life Balance Confessions: Stories and Tips to Enlighten and Inspire How to Juggle What Matters36: Podcast Backstory & What's Coming Up in Season 4In the spirit of the upcoming holidays, this episode of “A Fine Balance” touches on the past, present and future of the podcast.On the past, I take a look back at what prompted me to create a podcast that delves into the subject of how different people pursue their balance between work and everything else in life. On the present, I share a gift that’s available right now for any listeners curious to explore where you stand in balancing your work with everything else in life: the Work...
2024-12-2008 min
Work-Life Balance Confessions: Stories and Tips to Enlighten and Inspire How to Juggle What Matters35: On Panic Attacks, Career Changes and Regaining Balance After Hitting Rock Bottom - Routh's Story9/11 marked a dramatic turning point in the working life of this episode's guest, Routh Chadwick, a New York resident who at the time was an aspiring actress. The career changes that evolved from thereon maintained a degree of drama, as Routh went on to train as a clinical social worker and counsellor. From TV sets as a counsellor on the Jeremy Kyle show, to caring for patients on the psych ward, Routh's work-life balance limits were tested, leading her to set the boundaries she has in place today between her work and everything else in...
2024-12-061h 11
Work-Life Balance Confessions: Stories and Tips to Enlighten and Inspire How to Juggle What Matters34: Work, Life, Balance Self-Assessment: a Tool for Reflecting on Your Personal Pursuit of BalanceThis podcast episode is a quick introduction and guide to a new tool, which has recently launched on the website, www.a-fine-balance.com, called the "Work, Life, Balance Self-Assessment".
If you've downloaded the self-assessment, or are considering doing it, then take a listen to this episode to get some ideas about how to complete the assessment, what to bear in mind as you do, and for some additional questions to prompt more in-depth introspection.
If you'd like to share your experience of completing the Work, Life, Balance Self-Assessment, then...
2024-11-2713 min
Work-Life Balance Confessions: Stories and Tips to Enlighten and Inspire How to Juggle What Matters33: How To Reset Your Work-Life Balance by Mastering Four Internal Elements - with Faust RuggieroIn this episode of A Fine Balance – The Podcast, I’m joined by Faust Ruggiero, a US-based therapist and author whose career spans over 35 years of working with people from all walks of life. From his time in clinics, prisons, and inpatient facilities to his role as a consultant for major corporations, Faust brings a wealth of knowledge and practical insight.
Throughout our conversation, Faust introduces his “process life program,” a method he developed to help people find inner balance across four key areas: physical, intellectual, emotional, and spiritual.
He also...
2024-10-291h 02
Work-Life Balance Confessions: Stories and Tips to Enlighten and Inspire How to Juggle What Matters32: Improving Your Work-Life Balance by Escaping the 'Rat Race': Work, Life, Balance Lesson #7Does escaping the rat race improve work-life balance?
What does it take to make this work-life balance choice work?
Does it afford a person a less stressful lifestyle overall?
And why don’t more people go for it?
This is the episode for you if...
⭐️ You’re finding the pace of city living stressful, overwhelming and lacking purpose
⭐️ You’ve always wondered what it would be like to move away from the...
2024-09-2618 min
Work-Life Balance Confessions: Stories and Tips to Enlighten and Inspire How to Juggle What Matters31: The Pursuit of Work-Life Balance When You’re Single and Looking for Love - Katie’s StoryWork-life balance isn’t typically a topic you’d associate with single, young professionals with no caring responsibilities. Yet, as this episode's guest, a business development manager and creator of the Single Sounds podcast, Katie McNamara shares, this is a time in life when there’s a lot going on.
When you're starting out in your career and independent life, there are plenty of decisions that need to be taken about how to spend your time and set your priorities.
To name but a few… social arrangements, work commitments and buil...
2024-09-021h 53
Work-Life Balance Confessions: Stories and Tips to Enlighten and Inspire How to Juggle What Matters30: Self-Employed or Employed - Which is Better For Your Work-Life Balance? Work, Life, Balance Lesson #6This work life balance lesson episode explores which is better for your work-life balance: being self-employed or employed?
To do this, I've summarised the lessons I’ve learned
from interviewing a range of self-employed and employed people – about whether it’s better for your work-life balance to be your own boss, or to be employed
by someone else.
I've also done a bit of number-crunching to find out,
for example, what proportion of interviewees on 'A Fine Balance' that have experienced "burnout" have done so while being employed by someon...
2024-08-0520 min
Work-Life Balance Confessions: Stories and Tips to Enlighten and Inspire How to Juggle What Matters29: DISABILITY PRIDE MONTH SPECIAL: Pursuing a Work-Life Balance When You’re Disabled - Emma’s StoryThis is a special episode to mark Disability Pride Month, which falls every July. My guest is Emma Livingstone, a married mum of three, who, in 2018, founded a campaigning movement called "UP - The Adult Cerebral Palsy Movement", to improve care services for adults living with Cerebral Palsy (CP).
Emma was diagnosed with CP in childhood, but it was only when she reached adulthood that she realised how monumental the barriers were to her living her best life with all the challenges posed by her disability.
Throughout my interview with Emma, we touch on
some of the practical ways that E...
2024-07-231h 13
Work-Life Balance Confessions: Stories and Tips to Enlighten and Inspire How to Juggle What Matters28: Tips on How To Create a Morning Routine That Enhances Your Work-Life Balance: Work,Life,Balance Lesson #5Do you rely on your morning routine to set yourself up for the day?
Could your morning routine do with some improvement?
Are you curious about how establishing
a morning routine could help enhance how you balance work with everything else in life?
If you answered yes to any of the above questions, then this episode could be just the one for you.
A clear trend has emerged from all the conversations I've featured on the blog and podcast, 'A Fine Balance': that how a person manages their time in the morning has a direct correllation to how well they...
2024-07-2125 min
Work-Life Balance Confessions: Stories and Tips to Enlighten and Inspire How to Juggle What Matters27: On Flexible Working, Morning Routines & Finding Balance When You're In Charge - Rebecca’s StoryDo you plan your day’s outfit the night before?
Guided by the mantra of “setting yourself up for the day ahead”, Rebecca is resolute that incorporating time first thing in the morning to exercise her mind and body provides her with the foundation to live a balanced life.
Eliminating the need to decide what to wear, and find said clothes and accessories, buys her time and headspace to fit this all in before her day begins in earnest.
In this episode, Rebecca provides examples of a range of similar techniques and approaches that she’s adopted over the years to help...
2024-06-1953 min
Work-Life Balance Confessions: Stories and Tips to Enlighten and Inspire How to Juggle What Matters26: How to Find a Work-Life Balance When You Hate Your Job: Work, Life, Balance Lesson #4This Work, Life, Balance Lesson is all about finding a balance between work and everything else in life when you hate your job.
Now, hate is a strong word, which I don’t use lightly. In this case, it’s a direct quote from people I’ve interviewed on this podcast who have talked about this exact thing. And it’s right that it’s a strong word because when you don’t like the work you do, it has an incredibly strong impact.
A person’s job is often the benchmark against which people measure their value and identity, as well as being...
2024-05-3024 min
Work-Life Balance Confessions: Stories and Tips to Enlighten and Inspire How to Juggle What Matters25: On Work-Life Balance in Marketing and Corporate Jobs, Having Fun & Asking For Help - Dan’s StoryThis podcast episode features Dan Knowlton, a marketing professional, business owner, and
podcast co-host.
Our conversation covers the pursuit of balance and…
📈Being a marketing professional and business owner
🌆Corporate working cultures
😊Having fun both in and outside work
👬Sibling dynamics
👤Fatherhood and being the parent in a partnership that doesn’t carry the mental load
💪🏼Going to the gym
To read more about my interview with Dan, go to: www.a-fine-balance.com/podcast
(https://a-fine-balance.com/2024/05/22/on-marketing-corporate-cultures-having-fun-and-asking-for-help-new-podcast-episode-out-now-featuring-dan-knowlton/)
You can find out more about Dan and his brother Lloyd's agency Knowlton, and their podcast Business Anchors, at www.knowltonmarketing.co.uk.
2024-05-221h 09
Work-Life Balance Confessions: Stories and Tips to Enlighten and Inspire How to Juggle What Matters24: How To Find A Work-Life Balance When There’s Housework To Be Done: Work, Life, Balance Lesson #3Housework is an unavoidable, time-consuming labour-intensive reality of adulthood. Whether you own your own home or rent, live alone, with friends, strangers or family members, the house-keeping tasks that make a house a home need doing.
The part that home-making plays in a person’s work-life balance varies from person to person. The subject of “domesticity” doesn’t always come up when I interview people about how they balance their work with everything else in their life.
For some, home-making forms part of a person’s ambition; for others it’s a chore that stokes up emotions of guilt and resentment...
2024-04-3028 min
Work-Life Balance Confessions: Stories and Tips to Enlighten and Inspire How to Juggle What Matters23: On Housekeeping, Middle Age & Finding Work-Life Balance When Your Marriage Ends - Helen’s StoryThe tiresome chores required to maintain a house and sustain the lives within it are more than the sum of their parts. They create a home, and a safe and comfortable haven, both for individuals and for raising a family.
Do they, therefore, fall under the “work” or “home” sides of the work-life balance equation?They certainly often feel like work. Hard work. Yet, they’re unpaid and occupy the time spent when not “at work”.
This podcast episode, features the writer and “home worker” Helen Hayward. In this episode, we discuss:
📕 Helen’s new book, which challenges criticisms of domesticity from the li...
2024-04-101h 18
Evolve & Expand with Lorna83: Creating Your Own Version of Balance with Dalya WittenbergWhat does it mean to you to live a balanced life? How would you define that for you? In this weeks episode, I am joined by Dalya Wittenberg from 'A Fine Balance' to discuss the topic of balance.
In this episode we explore what it means to live a balanced life, and question if there is a 50/50 version of balance. Dalya shares her experiences, and the experiences of the many people she has interviewed on this topic and what happens if you attach your identity to one aspect of your life. If you're in...
2024-03-2839 min
Work-Life Balance Confessions: Stories and Tips to Enlighten and Inspire How to Juggle What Matters22: How Parents Influence Their Children's Work-Life Balance Choices - Work, Life, Balance Lesson #2What did you learn from your parents about the way they worked when you were growing up?Did their work-life balance approach inspire you to follow in their footsteps? Or did it have the opposite effect and encourage you to do things differently? In turn as a parent yourself, how do you think the values you place on your work are internalised by your children? Does it matter? In this short Work, Life Balance Lesson segment I try to unpack this knotty subject of parent-child dynamic through sharing examples of the observations I've...
2024-03-2019 min
Work-Life Balance Confessions: Stories and Tips to Enlighten and Inspire How to Juggle What Matters21: Finding Work-Life Balance as an Introvert in a Family and Workplace of Extroverts - Rami’s StoryMy guest this episode is Rami Madbouli, who, at the time of this podcast recording, was working as a Private Secretary to Ministers in the UK Government’s Department of Health & Social Care.
Rami’s 90:10 work:life ratio is the highest figure weighting on the work side that has featured on ‘A Fine Balance’. And whilst this is a work-life balance that – on the whole – works well for Rami, he says that he usually finds that it's met with disapproval.
That Rami applies a 90:10 figure on his work:life ratio was, as always, just a starting point to our conversation. In the proce...
2024-03-061h 19
Work-Life Balance Confessions: Stories and Tips to Enlighten and Inspire How to Juggle What Matters20: How to Find a Work-Life Balance When You Have a Smartphone & Engage in Social Media - Work, Life, Balance Lesson #1I have learned so much from all the interviews I’ve conducted since launching my blog in 2020 – asking people from all walks of life about the choices they make when balancing work with everything else.Over time I’ve gathered many examples of actions that people have taken to find their balance. I’ve also noticed common themes emerging from them. So I’ve decided to introduce some short bitesize podcast episodes to showcase and reflect on some of these lessons, which I hope listeners will find useful in considering their own work:life ratio.The first lesson I’d like to show...
2024-02-2915 min
Work-Life Balance Confessions: Stories and Tips to Enlighten and Inspire How to Juggle What Matters19: Finding Balance by Turning Your Passion into a Side Hustle - Bettina’s StoryMy guest this episode is my good friend and neighbour, Bettina Jacobs. Bettina works as both a photography teacher and a freelance photographer. Married with three children, there’s already a lot on her plate before taking into account her charity work, extended family commitments and a busy home and social life.
In this episode of ‘A Fine Balance – The Podcast’, Bettina describes how developing her passion into a side hustle has afforded her a sense of balance that was previously not in the scope of her ambitions.
Her journey to where she is today is essentially one of self-discovery, a coming...
2024-02-051h 17
Work-Life Balance Confessions: Stories and Tips to Enlighten and Inspire How to Juggle What Matters18: On Motivation, Managing Emotions & Finding Balance When Engaging With Social Media-Vicky's StoryDo you ever feel like you’re dragging your heels in getting started with something?Does your to-do list stare back at you as a reminder of all the things that you need to get done but haven’t made time for yet? And does that in turn create a sense of overwhelm, which skews your sense of work-life balance?
If so, this podcast episode could be just what you need to help get yourself on track to finding your balance in 2024.
My guest this episode is the wellness business mentor, self-belief coach, and host of the podcast “Just Start Now”...
2024-01-171h 17
Work-Life Balance Confessions: Stories and Tips to Enlighten and Inspire How to Juggle What MattersSeason 3 TrailerSeason 3 of ‘A Fine Balance - The Podcast’ will be coming out soon. Listen here for what to expect from future episodes. For more information, go to www.a-fine-balance.com/podcast and for updates, you can follow @afinebalance_blog on Facebook or Instagram.
2024-01-0701 min
Work-Life Balance Confessions: Stories and Tips to Enlighten and Inspire How to Juggle What Matters17: BONUS EPISODE: Highlights of ‘A Fine Balance - The Podcast’ in 2023In this special bonus episode, which is both the final episode of 2023 and the final episode of Season 2 of ‘A Fine Balance - The Podcast’, I look back on all the conversations I’ve hosted on the podcast this year.
We dip into each 2023 podcast interview, and play back an extract from my conversations with guests about how they balance work with everything else in life. Also included is an short audio clip from an event I took part in this year with parenting expert and author Anita Cleare on finding balance as a working parent.
This episode offers the opport...
2023-12-271h 29
Work-Life Balance Confessions: Stories and Tips to Enlighten and Inspire How to Juggle What Matters16: On Part-Time Working Fatherhood, Perfectionism & Finding Balance With Cancer-Sam's StoryThis episode features former blog guest Sam Franklin, a father of two who works part-time as Head of Innovation Consulting in a global tech corporation.
I published a write-up of my interview with Sam on International Men’s Day 2020, which felt fitting given that his take on work-life balance centred on empowering men to take ownership of how they choose to spend their time, both in and outside work.
A vital part of that, he argued, was championing the role that men play in creating true equality with their female counterparts – particularly those with caring responsibilities.
At the time of inte...
2023-12-181h 21
Work-Life Balance Confessions: Stories and Tips to Enlighten and Inspire How to Juggle What Matters15: EMERGENCY EPISODE: The Pursuit of Balance When You’re Living Through WarOn 7th October 2023, the world woke up to horrific news of a terrorist attack in Israel. The trauma of this attack, and the war that has ensued, is far-reaching and multifaceted. And, as I write, it is still so raw and unfolding.
With the help of my friend, clinical psychologist and psychotherapist, Dr Ian Moran, I have hastily pulled together an "emergency" podcast episode, to host a conversation about navigating the thorny question of how to find balance when you’re living through war.
In keeping true to the concept of the blog and podcast 'A Fine Balance', where I ho...
2023-10-261h 34
Work-Life Balance Confessions: Stories and Tips to Enlighten and Inspire How to Juggle What Matters14: On Pride, Acceptance & Finding Balance by Parenting Equally While Working Full-Time-Paul's StoryThis episode, which was recorded during Pride month, features the investigative journalist, author, and equal parenting advocate, Paul Morgan-Bentley.
During our conversation, Paul shares his experience of coming out and we discuss what impacted his sense of balance during those formative years. Having reluctantly resigned himself to accept that as a gay man, fatherhood was a closed door for him, Paul’s life changed when he and his husband discovered that surrogacy was an option.
“I mourned my fertility”, Paul says, as we discuss how his assumed infertility has gone on to impact his work-life balance choices as a parent, and he...
2023-08-161h 10
Work-Life Balance Confessions: Stories and Tips to Enlighten and Inspire How to Juggle What Matters13: On Teenage Pregnancy, Teacher Burnout & Finding Balance When You’re “Busy” - Laura's StoryIn this episode, Laura shares the story of her decision to leave the teaching profession in order to regain some balance in her life. She describes the difficulties she encountered in finding balance as a teacher, and how the mounting workload, and the pressure - both in and outside of work - pushed her to a breaking point.
And she touches on some of the tools that she applied to recognise and recover from burning out.
Laura also talks about her experience of falling pregnant in her teens, and her pursuit of balance back then when, contrary to most of...
2023-05-261h 23
Work-Life Balance Confessions: Stories and Tips to Enlighten and Inspire How to Juggle What Matters12: On Finding Balance When You Want To “Have It All”, Teamwork & Avoiding Stress - Ruth's StoryI'm delighted to introduce my guest of this podcast episode, Ruth Todd CBE. Ruth's career has been full of managing complex infrastructure and change projects for a string of blue-chip companies, often under public scrutiny.
Formerly Programme Director of the UK's Vaccine Taskforce, Ruth now works as Chief Commercial Officer of the largest infrastructure project in Europe: a new high speed rail line being built in the United Kingdom called HS2. She is also married with two children, and has multiple interests outside of her work and home.
How does she find a balance between all of these "compartments" of...
2023-04-2151 min
Work-Life Balance Confessions: Stories and Tips to Enlighten and Inspire How to Juggle What Matters11: On Finding Balance as a Career-Driven Family Man, When Work Takes Priority - Gilles' StoryGilles Dahan, a former banker and head of global trading, left the finance industry in 2019, and now works as a consultant and entrepreneur.
Gilles has always thrived on working hard. Growing up, he was taught that “work is everything”. As a working adult, his career has been the source of his greatest fulfilment. And his “work” has consistently and purposefully dominated his work-life balance.
Nonetheless, married with three children, Gilles regards himself as a family man through and through, and he neither feels guilty nor regrets prioritising work in the way that he has done and continues to do.
In fact, Gi...
2023-04-021h 17
Work-Life Balance Confessions: Stories and Tips to Enlighten and Inspire How to Juggle What Matters10: On Finding Balance in Grief, Being a High-Achiever & Overcoming Imposter Syndrome-Katie's StoryKatie started her career as a vet, yet her experience of burnout on account of her pursuit of perfection led her down another path.
She now describes herself as: speaker, imposter syndrome buster, vet entrepreneur. She’s also an author, by the way, and a few other things alongside that too.
As an expert at “busting” imposter syndrome, and mastering personal narratives, in this episode, Katie shares a wealth of knowledge and academically-grounded insights and references, which I’m sure will be helpful to any listeners considering how to balance work with other things in life.
Yet, it was the unexpect...
2023-03-031h 24
Work-Life Balance Confessions: Stories and Tips to Enlighten and Inspire How to Juggle What Matters9: On Not Being Career-Oriented & Finding Balance as a Musician and a Newlywed - Amanda's StoryIn this episode, Amanda describes what it’s like to balance working as a musician with everything else in her life, especially her creative pursuits. She talks about the punishing self-discipline typical of musicians, and how she reconciles her inclination to spend her time constructively, with not being “career-oriented”.
Amanda touches on the deliberate approach that she and her husband, who one day wish to have children, have taken to set the foundations for the work-life balance they aspire to: one that is flexible and stable. And she touches on how the career choices they've taken in the early years of the...
2023-02-031h 08
Work-Life Balance Confessions: Stories and Tips to Enlighten and Inspire How to Juggle What MattersSeason Two TrailerSeason Two of ‘A Fine Balance - The Podcast’ is launching soon. Listen here to find out what to expect and be sure to subscribe so you know when Episode One is ready to drop.
2023-01-3101 min
Work-Life Balance Confessions: Stories and Tips to Enlighten and Inspire How to Juggle What Matters8: “Finding Balance in Retirement”. On Leadership, Imposter Syndrome & Managing Passions-Tom’s StoryTom McLaughlan, a retired Government Relations Advisor, who now works voluntarily for a crisis intervention charity, first featured on ‘A Fine Balance - The Blog’ in August 2021. In this episode, we discuss in more depth Tom’s work-life balance choices - both today in retirement, and looking back at when he was in the height of his career. His emotive and honest reflections leave much food for thought about the opportunities and challenges of balancing priorities during these two life stages: one’s career peak, and their career’s end - and the “life” milestones that occur in between. Tom also shares hi...
2022-12-021h 12
Work-Life Balance Confessions: Stories and Tips to Enlighten and Inspire How to Juggle What Matters7: BONUS EPISODE: Five Steps to Improve Your Work-Life Balance - with Annabel JeffcoateIn this bonus episode, which differs to this podcast’s usual format, Annabel Jeffcoate, coach and founder of ‘Balance for Teachers’ provides her professional advice on how to improve your work-life balance in 5 steps. She also goes into detail about the strategy that she has devised using the word BALANCE as an acronym. In this episode, Annabel shares her story about losing balance early on in her career, which resulted in a severe case of burnout, explaining how she has drawn from her own experience to help others. For more info on Annabel’s strategy and coaching services, go to www.work...
2022-05-021h 07
Work-Life Balance Confessions: Stories and Tips to Enlighten and Inspire How to Juggle What Matters6: “Single & Childfree by Choice”. On boundary-setting & doing what makes you happy - Laurie’s StoryThis is a follow-up interview with Laurie Macpherson, who first featured on ‘A Fine Balance - The Blog’ in July 2021. https://a-fine-balance.com/2021/07/04/finding-balance-on-her-own-terms-single-by-choice-childfree-by-choice-lauries-story-on-doing-what-suits-you/. Laurie is a career coach and mentor who owns her own business, The Grow Consultancy, advising people on career choices and job applications. Before becoming self-employed, Laurie worked for many years in the retail sector and also travelled all over the world working as a holiday rep and on cruises. When she featured on the blog, Laurie was keen to impress her perspective of finding balance as a single woman with no children: “I’m single by choic...
2022-03-1359 min
Work-Life Balance Confessions: Stories and Tips to Enlighten and Inspire How to Juggle What Matters5: On Marriage, Self-Employment & Primary Care-Giving: “Motherhood & the Mental Load”- Sarah’s StoryFollow-up interview with Sarah Macmull, who was first featured on ‘A Fine Balance - The. Blog’ in October 2020: https://a-fine-balance.com/2020/10/14/sarahs-story-motherhood-and-the-mental-load-marriage-self-employment-and-primary-care-giving/.
It’s rare to hear a feminist extolling the virtues of home-keeping alongside career drive. And it’s equally unusual for the story of a mother building her career around her family to be told in of itself.
Sarah’s story does both of these things, addressing the pursuit of balance for a woman whose ambitions include motherhood, home-keeping and a career.
These things all result in a heavy “mental load”, which is both burdensome and the stuff of dreams for...
2022-01-291h 13
Work-Life Balance Confessions: Stories and Tips to Enlighten and Inspire How to Juggle What Matters4: On stay-at-home motherhood, opting out of a career & valuing a mother’s presence - Nadine’s StoryBlogger Michelle Green, of ‘Fifty & Fab’ notoriety, discusses my latest blog post, “‘Stay at home, Mum’: Nadine’s Story on finding balance as a stay-at-home-mum, opting out of a career path & valuing a mother’s presence”. To read more go to: https://a-fine-balance.com/2021/11/16/stay-at-home-mum-nadines-story-on-opting-out-of-a-career-path-valuing-a-mothers-presence/. Check out Michelle’s blog, ‘Fifty & Fab’, at www.fiftyandfab.co.uk.
2021-12-271h 06
Work-Life Balance Confessions: Stories and Tips to Enlighten and Inspire How to Juggle What Matters3: On burnout and finding balance in the early stages of working life - Tahmid’s StoryFollow-up interview with Tahmid Chowdhury, who was first featured on the blog ‘A Fine Balance’ in October 2020: https://a-fine-balance.com/2020/10/02/work-life-balance-profile-4-tahmid-chowdhury/. Early in his career, Tahmid realised that he was on the verge of ‘burning out’ and he took some drastic measures to change his lifestyle and mindset to improve his situation. Burnout is something that has come up again and again in the interviews I conduct for my blog and is usually an indicator of a skewed balance between the various aspects of life and work at any given time. I was curious to understand Tahmid’s experience, not just w...
2021-09-301h 07
Work-Life Balance Confessions: Stories and Tips to Enlighten and Inspire How to Juggle What Matters2: On competitiveness, co-parenting & surviving job loss - Jhilmil’s StoryInterview with Jhilmil Kishore, a full-time working architect and single mother. This interview is based on the ‘A Fine Balance’ blog post: “My Work, My Identity”. Read the blog at: https://a-fine-balance.com/2021/05/06/jhilmils-story-my-work-my-identity-on-competitiveness-co-parenting-surviving-job-loss/.
2021-08-291h 10
Work-Life Balance Confessions: Stories and Tips to Enlighten and Inspire How to Juggle What Matters1: On self-care, the power of a positive mindset, and finding balance in mid-life - Soli’s StoryInterview with teacher and ADHD expert, Soli Lazarus, based on the ‘A Fine Balance’ blog post: “Sunny-Side Up, Please”. Read the blog at https://a-fine-balance.com/2020/12/06/solis-story-sunny-side-up-please-self-care-for-caring-professionals-finding-balance-in-mid-life-staying-positive-when-the-course-of-motherhood-doesnt-run-smooth/.
2021-07-2656 min
Work-Life Balance Confessions: Stories and Tips to Enlighten and Inspire How to Juggle What MattersWork-Life Balance Confessions: Stories and Tips to Enlighten and Inspire How to Juggle What Matters (Trailer)
2021-05-2600 min