Creating an Academic Culture of Working to Live

I’m often asked how I succeed at managing work-life balance—or as I call it, “life-work balance”— and it stems from my childhood. My parents both worked as educators, and both were highly successful in their respective careers. But one was able to balance work with hobbies and self-care, while the other was not able to “turn it off.” I didn’t realize until just recently what a major effect this had on me. I always knew that I didn’t want my career to consume me, but then I joined the academic world, which as we all know often perpetuates the sense of needing to work all the time (and feeling guilty when we aren’t doing so).