1309: When You Want a Career and a Slower Pace of Life by Emma Scheib of Simple Slow Lovely on Work-Life Balance

[00:00:00] This is Optimal Work Daily, Episode 1309. When you want a career and a slower pace of life,

[00:00:06] by Emma Scheib of simpleslowlovely.com. And I am Dan, your host and narrator of this show,

[00:00:13] and today's a special day as I'll be introducing a brand new author to the show,

[00:00:18] Emma Scheib, although she has been a regular on some of the other shows in our network for a

[00:00:22] while now. So with that, let's hear our very first post from Emma on our show as we

[00:00:27] continue optimizing your life. When you want a career and a slower pace of life, by Emma Scheib

[00:00:38] of simpleslowlovely.com. When most people envision having a slower life, it doesn't involve having

[00:00:45] a career as well. Slow living usually conjures pictures of homeschooling on a hobby farm with

[00:00:51] dreadlocks and no Wi-Fi. Having a job, let alone a successful career, doesn't usually fit

[00:00:56] into the picture. One of the most common questions I get asked is, do I need to give up my job or career

[00:01:02] to adopt a slower lifestyle? Or how can I integrate slow living ideas when I have a busy job or career?

[00:01:09] And if you want one, doesn't that mean you automatically don't want the other?

[00:01:13] Pursuing both the career and slow living. Firstly, in my humble opinion, it's okay

[00:01:19] if you want to pursue slow living but also work hard and sometimes long hours in your

[00:01:24] profession. Having a career and a slow focus doesn't need to be mutually exclusive. For a large portion

[00:01:30] of the population, work, I'll stick with the concept of paid work here, makes up approximately

[00:01:36] one third of your day. And many of us work in jobs we enjoy and find rewarding and fulfilling.

[00:01:41] There's no way you'd consider giving it up. But there are a few things that will help you

[00:01:45] to both slow down and keep your career. One, be honest about your choice. First,

[00:01:52] if you have a strong inclination to pursue your chosen career, whether it's flying planes,

[00:01:57] managing your local fruit shop, or writing a book, then you need to acknowledge that your

[00:02:01] time and energy are limited and finite. When you say yes to your career, you automatically

[00:02:07] say no to something else. Sometimes that's something else is a time consuming hobby,

[00:02:11] other times it's a rigorous or competitive sport. Sometimes it's your kids or spouse.

[00:02:17] That doesn't have to be a negative at all, it might simply mean that in order to work a

[00:02:20] 40 hour week, you need to outsource some home things. Although please note you can't outsource

[00:02:25] time spent with loved ones. Trust me on this. Two, having strong boundaries.

[00:02:32] If you've leaned into workaholism in the past, even just a smidgen, you'll need to employ

[00:02:36] some strong boundaries if you want to avoid going back to the fast lane. It's far too easy

[00:02:41] to be fooled into thinking that more hours, projects, money in our working life equates

[00:02:46] to more happiness. In reality, research tells us the opposite, that there is a happiness plateau

[00:02:51] at around $80,000. Making more than that won't necessarily equate to more happiness. If you are

[00:02:57] an employee, set strong boundaries about what you will and won't do from the beginning.

[00:03:02] Are you willing to do overtime? Or willing to cover extra shifts?

[00:03:06] Answer work emails outside of work hours. State your boundaries and then get your boss

[00:03:10] to repeat them back to confirm they are crystal clear about what to expect or not from you.

[00:03:16] And three, consider fitting your career around your life. Over the past few years,

[00:03:22] I've become increasingly passionate about the idea of crafting my career or work around my life

[00:03:27] as opposed to having to fit my life around my career. This is an entirely new way of thinking.

[00:03:33] When I grew up, both my parents worked in traditional jobs. Mom is a bank teller,

[00:03:37] dad driving taxis and trucks, and their employers dictating when and where they

[00:03:42] would do their duties from. And there was no leeway. Fast forward a few decades and the American

[00:03:47] workforce is made up of one third freelancers, that is people who are contracting their services to

[00:03:52] others largely on their terms and often from home in their pajamas, eating pizza. We live

[00:03:58] in an age where we can pursue a career and make money on our own terms. You can be a

[00:04:02] virtual assistant, a virtual coach, a virtual illustrator, virtually anything. It's easier

[00:04:08] than it's ever been to be your own boss. Of course, being a freelancer or small business owner

[00:04:13] doesn't shield you from overtime and long work hours. You'll still bump up against the fast lane,

[00:04:18] perhaps even more frequently. Boundaries will be just as important and perhaps harder to stick

[00:04:23] to when you are in that meeting with yourself. Why I gave up my dream job for my life.

[00:04:29] I loved my dream job as an intelligence analyst for the New Zealand police. It was one of

[00:04:34] the closest things to an FBI agent, which has been my real dream job since watching Clarice take

[00:04:40] down Hannibal Lecter in 1991. As you can get here in Lil NZ. But there was no possibility of part-time

[00:04:47] or working from home. I had to fit my life around my job. I had to fit my family around my job.

[00:04:53] So I eventually said no. And since then, I've built a cobbled path of odd jobs to

[00:04:58] contribute to the food kitty. Immersed myself in mindfulness techniques to slow my life

[00:05:02] and reduce stress. And discovered ways of building a wee business that enables me to work

[00:05:07] in my pajamas on things that inspire me and fill up my contribution bucket. To me, this is exciting.

[00:05:13] It's a second chance at a second blooming. And it's a chance to finally step out of the rat

[00:05:18] race. The fast lane. The crazy busy. You just listened to the post titled,

[00:05:27] When You Want A Career And A Slower Pace Of Life by Emma Scheib of simpleslowlovely.com.

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[00:06:34] And thank you so much to Emma, who like I said is a brand new author to OWD.

[00:06:39] Emma Scheib gained her master's in psychology in 2013 and has since worked full-time in corporate

[00:06:44] research positions for government agencies. She recently gave up her dream job, as she

[00:06:49] mentioned in the post, to pursue being a happier mom living a slower pace of life.

[00:06:54] She's also dipping her toes back into her long lost love creative writing.

[00:06:58] She writes regularly over at Simple, Slow, Lovely and you can also connect with her on

[00:07:02] Facebook and Instagram by searching for Simple, Slow, Lovely on either platform.

[00:07:07] But that's going to do it for me today and another installment of Optimal Work Daily goes

[00:07:11] into the books. I thank you so much for being here and be sure to do the same tomorrow

[00:07:16] where your optimal life awaits.