Work/Life Balance is Hard
We’ve all read the productivity guides, the self-help threads, and the well-meaning advice about achieving that elusive holy grail: work/life balance. Unplug after five, protect your weekends, carve out time for family, hobbies, and a good night’s sleep.
It sounds wonderful in theory. But what happens when your life includes not just one career, but two demanding creative and professional pursuits running on parallel tracks?
Lately, I’ve realized that traditional work/life balance isn’t the puzzle I’m trying to solve. My daily reality looks a lot more like Work/Work/Life balance—and let me tell you, it’s a whole different level of juggling.
Work #1: The Day Job (That I Actually Love)
For over twenty-five years, I’ve built and run my freelance content development practice. It’s challenging, strategic, and intellectually engaging work. I genuinely enjoy diving into complex topics, crafting clear narratives, and helping clients solve communication problems.
Beyond personal satisfaction, there’s an important practical side to it: Work #1 funds the dream.
Being an independent author isn’t just about sitting in a quiet room with a cup of tea, letting inspiration strike. It’s running a small publishing business. Cover design, professional editing, audio production, advertising campaigns, website maintenance—they all require capital. My freelance work provides the financial engine that allows me to invest properly in my fiction without cutting corners.
Work #2, Part A: The Reality of Book Marketing & Launch Prep
Then comes the second “Work.”
If you ask people outside the publishing world what an author does, they’ll picture someone drafting chapters. But in reality, drafting is only half the battle. The other half is the relentless, multifaceted grind of book marketing.
Right now, that marketing plate is overflowing. On any given day, I’m:
Promoting my debut novel, The Kill of the Hunt: Testing ad copy, building newsletter outreach, engaging with readers, and keeping momentum alive post-launch.
Prepping the Audiobook Release: Working through the production pipeline to bring The Kill of the Hunt to life in audio, lining up reviewers, and planning the promotional push for ACX/Audible.
Laying the Groundwork for Book Two: Planning launch timelines, email sequences, and promotional strategies for the next installment in the series.
Marketing a book is demanding. It requires switching from a narrative mindset to an analytical, promotional one—crunching numbers, tweaking designs, and constantly finding ways to connect with mystery lovers in a crowded market.
Work #2, Part B: Researching and Drafting The Trials of the Hunt
And tucked inside Work #2 is the reason I got into this in the first place: the writing itself.
Currently, I’m deep in the weeds researching and drafting the sequel, The Trials of the Hunt.
Writing a mystery requires real headspace. You can’t just phone in a plot twist or rush through intricate equestrian and investigative details. It takes hours of focused research, meticulous scene plotting, and quiet drafting time to ensure the pacing, clues, and character arcs hit just right.
Finding the creative energy to write murder, motives, and mayhem after spending a full workday crafting client deliverables—and another two hours fiddling with ad dashboards—is where the real test of endurance happens.
And Then… Life
Somewhere between client deadlines, marketing spreadsheets, and chasing down plot holes, there has to be room for life.
Life is stepping away from the keyboard to spend time with family. It’s getting outside, following a bike race, enjoying an afternoon watching equestrian sports, or taking the time to cook a proper meal from scratch without checking email while the pan heats up.
If you let Work #1 and Work #2 consume every waking hour, burnout isn’t a possibility—it’s an inevitability. Life is what recharges the well so there’s something left to put on the page.
How I Make the Juggling Act Work (Most Days)
I won’t pretend to have it completely figured out, but a few rules of thumb keep the wheels on the wagon:
Strict Time Blocking: When it’s client time, clients get 100% of my focus. When it’s drafting time, Slack is muted, and social media is closed. Context-switching is the enemy of quality.
Treating Author Life Like a Business: Scheduling marketing tasks just like client deliverables ensures they don't get pushed aside or bleed endlessly into personal time.
Protecting Sacred Downtime: Leaving room for non-work passions isn't a luxury; it’s maintenance for the brain.
Remembering the Why: On the days when the schedule feels overwhelming, I remind myself how fortunate I am to do client work I enjoy and bring mystery stories to life that readers love.
Work/Work/Life balance is messy, exhausting, and constantly shifting. But when the drafts come together, the readers reach out, and the books find their audience, every bit of the balancing act is worth it.
Over to you: If you're balancing a day job with a creative pursuit or a side business, how do you keep all the plates spinning? Let me know in the comments below!
