The work/life balance is definitely a challenge for me. And planning my sabbatical has been quite the interesting exercise in how to keep everything balanced. I’m having to turn folks away and say that I can’t work with them until I’m back in the office. Of course, I hear, “But can’t you fit me in before you leave?” The old Heather would have said yes and worked 18 hour days to make it happen. The new Heather calmly explains that no, there is no available time – and I’ll be much more focused when I’m back.

It’s a strange feeling. But a good one.:)

As a survivor of a burnout myself, I thank you for this post. Often people recognize that they are burned out when it is too late to do anything about it.

I have a couple of tips I use to make sure it does not happen again.

1. Decide what the balance between your personal life and work is. Then, plan your personal life first. Work – second.

2. When you sacrifice your personal time for work, keep score. Missed your kid’s soccer practice? Make up for it that weekend by taking them to a ball game. Do not postpone it.

3. Focus. There is always more work than you can possibly do. When you have goals, you know what the most important work is. Do it first.

And the most important trick I learned early on – leave your work at work.

Fortune does favor the brave.

Good luck with your business – it sounds like a fantastic move for you!

Strangely, now that I’ve made the decision to go it alone, I’ve newfound enthusiasm for my original career (technical writing) as well as copywriting. I feel the need to learn, improve and be a better me. And lots of little opportunities have started to crop up.

Life is strange like that. Something always seems to turn up if you have the guts to make the change. My brother changes jobs all the time and he has far more responsibilities than me, but he never worries about anything. Fortune favours the brave!

Good for you! And isn’t it funny how sometime life kicks us in the rear and forces us to make a decision – in your case, it was getting laid off.

You’re probably still in shock from being laid off – and you’ve spent a LONG time in your current career, so the transition would be hard. Take some time. Relax. Go somewhere or do something outside of your comfort zone. You’ll figure it out…really.