Last year, there was a sudden change in my role expectations at work, and I found myself staring down the possibility of endless hours stuck in a place where I was expected to be professional… but had nothing to do.
It wasn’t an easy change to accept.
I was in the middle of becoming something new — of changing — and suddenly, I was being anchored in place.
So what did I do?
I chose to grow anyway.
I applied to study a Master’s in Teacher Librarianship.
I committed to NaNoWriMo and decided to write a novel from scratch.
Then this year, I realised that if I overloaded my schedule just a little more — took on one extra unit each semester — I could finish my degree this year.
I could be done. I could be free. I could begin again.
And that’s how I ended up working full time, studying full time, parenting… and still somehow trying to meet creative goals.
I didn’t mean for it to happen — but I went from too much time on my hands to chaos incarnate.
Deadlines. Responsibilities. And an overwhelming need for time I didn’t have.
Sometimes I think people imagine “balance” as this calm, perfectly planned thing:
Work for 8 hours. Play for 8 hours. Sleep for 8 hours.
Easy, right?
But real life doesn’t work that way — especially when you’re responsible for people and tasks and dreams.
And the first things we sacrifice?
Our play. Our rest.
The pieces that keep us whole.
So how do you find balance that actually sustains you — especially when you’re busy?
You find it in moments.
Tiny ones.
Choice by choice.
This year, I’ve been choosing balance one moment at a time.
Moments to breathe.
Moments that bring joy, even if just for 10 minutes.
I…
- Celebrated my birthday intentionally and creatively, in the way I wanted to
- Finally started learning to paint with watercolours — and it has been pure joy
- Kept blogging every single week, even when it was hard
- Created for the fun of it through play and printables
- And on occasion, did something completely silly and unexpected (hello, Blooper Mascot)
Balance isn’t 8 hours of leisure to offset your 8 hours of work.
Balance is:
- That one quiet moment where you feel peace
- A spark of joy you didn’t expect
- Giving your body what it actually needs — whether that’s rest, silence, movement, or dessert
- Choosing not to do everything right now
- Letting go of perfection, and allowing “done” to be enough
Balance doesn’t mean doing everything.
Sometimes, it just means taking one small moment to do something kind for yourself —
on purpose.
Ash & Ember Rising 