Where does one get a smock at 7:26 P.M.?
Does Target sell smocks?
They must sell smocks.
Peter Cade/Getty Images
Unless theyre all out of smocks because Im THE ONLY MOTHER WHO FORGOT TO GET A SMOCK.
Mumsy, lets go in the sunroom, the older one says.
He starts shooting a nerf gun.
Stop that, I say.
Are we going in the sunroom?
He is so much more patient than I.
You have to close your laptop to watch me, he says, knowingly.
Now its 9 P.M. Weve inhaled aVampirinaepisode and Ive readPete The Cat Is Too Cool For School.
Its coming from inside the house!
I tweet that out.
Then…back to this story, this story aboutwork/life balance.
I go through my interviews and start cobbling pieces together.
Four days later, Im still cobbling.
My due date has long passed.
Ive got some kind of mental block.
Im also working on social media makeovers for a beauty PR firm.
Then it hits me like a ton of MacBooks.
My SELF editors were curious what the change in work/life balance has been.
Oh, the freedom…right?
In full disclosure, I know how privileged I am.
First of all, I’m white, and I made a hefty salary for a number of years.
I have severance, savings, and many marketable skills.
A bit more transparency: Ive never really believed in work/life balance.
I dont do much of anything in balance.
Google work/life balance is a sham, and tons of articles come up.
Thats me to a tee.
I am always on, always meeting, always pitching.
Whatever balance I did have in a full-time job, I have less of it now.
A lot of family life depends on negotiation.
People who are facing scarcity of time or money do not have those skills, Coontz says.
(See: me, at the start of this article, with my eldest son.)
Is this my fault?
But Im hustling, and Im exhausted.
So why wouldnt I be irritated?
Theres a limit to how much you’re free to do this.
Could this little control over your job apply to the gig economy?
OK, soJawsis heading my way if I keep swimming this way.
But I cant just climb out of the water.
If you took away the regular paycheck, what does the American Dream look like?
It looks like a lot less stuff.
What people hear is give up your lifestyle and get something smaller and cheaper, Mulcahy explains.
That changes the income they need to produce.
She also talks about a new jot down of time-management, one unique to being a gig-er.
You have multiple stakeholders, different products, different expectations.
Nobodys telling you what to do, theres no structure in placeit can be challenging and hectic.
On the business side, Mulcahy suggests figuring outwhen youre most focused and productive.
Did you get up early and finish by 11 A.M.?
Feel more effective at the coffee shop?
Knowing when to focus on what will help you feel more in control and less stressed.
Andcutting your stress levelsis importantnot just for you.
(Theres also a fullbookon this topic.)
The concept of work/life balance seems to center around how much time we spend in each activity.
When work thoughts creep in, push them away.
Theyll get their turn!
Ive also found that it simply takes timeeven monthsbefore you get comfortable with saying no to assignments or projects.
Youll eventually realize that, even if you pass on this one, therewillbe another one.
But dont beat yourself up for not being the perfect self-manager at first.
Any big transition requires, well, a transition period.
As for my husband, I actually teared up the other night when he made me dinner.
BECAUSE I HAVE A HUSBAND WHO COOKS FOR ME AND BRINGS ME SELTZERS WHEN IM IN BED WATCHING NETFLIX.
Because theyre the steady amongst the mishmosh of invoices, clients, and deadlines.
Tomorrow is picture day at my sons schools.
Now, Im heading into their room to help them choose their favorite.
Maybe, in the end, the gig economy is actually making me a better mother.
