Happy now? How’s YOUR work/life balance?

Remember wishing the weekend would last forever? Happy now? – Give us your feedback below.

The essence of hell is a perpetual holiday!

We’re retired; we’re on holiday!

I’ve come across each of these three statements over the last few days and it is perhaps true to say that they represent a fair spectrum of humanity: people who miss work and, quite possibly, are not enjoying working among the distractions of home; people who are finding it difficult to deal with the contrast between retirement and their working lives; people who are almost obsessively happy in retirement.

It is obviously an over-generalisation to say that we are all different and, on the other hand, I guess we fall into many more separate groups than the three I have suggested above.

I consider myself lucky in that I have always enjoyed work and I have absolutely no wish to retire. Looking on the other side of that particular coin, am I unlucky because, for example, I have no hobbies to distract me from work? On reflection I think that I am.

I imagine that, when reading this, some people will spring up and say, “You have no work/life balance” and these people are obviously right to some degree or other. Would I be happier with what is considered a better work/life balance? Possibly, or even probably.

I certainly don’t intend to blame anyone for what some see as my predicament but could I have been steered into a better work/life balance and/or should I have taken that initiative myself?

I can’t remember when I first heard the term work/life balance but I’m prepared to wager that it was not too long ago. Maybe that is reflective of the post WW2 era that I was born into but, having said that, I have spent by far the greater majority of my life in years that showed absolutely no hint of austerity. “You’ve never had it so good!” was sometimes a catchphrase of politicians campaigning for re-election.

I wonder if many people like me do need help in establishing a better work/life balance. Personally, I’d answer that with a resounding ‘yes’. When we started working on The Silver Life we agreed that ageing cannot be avoided but it most certainly can be enjoyed.

With that credo in mind we started off on our Silver Life adventure but we need you help.

Please write in, anonymously if you like, and tell us how you built your own work/life balance, or the reasons why you have been unable to do so. Let’s help each other to enjoy our lives to the max – we all deserve it!