Work Life Imbalance

A trip to Dublin revealed a personal problem that no productivity app, AI tool, or time management system can solve.

I landed in Dublin with two intentions. To deliver my coaching program and connect with people I have worked with over the years, not through a screen, but sitting across from each other where connection becomes deeper.

I reached out to ten clients. These are leaders I respect. People who matter to me beyond the work itself. People I would consider friends.

Every response came back quickly and warmly. Each person said they would love to meet, but they were traveling for work, out of town, or already committed from Friday through Monday, and had no room left to make yes possible.

Out of ten people, only one was available.

The Hidden Cost of Work Life Imbalance

These are not people avoiding connection. These are successful leaders who care deeply about their work and their people. They are the ones others rely on, and yet most were not in one place long enough to meet.

We have become incredibly accessible, but we are rarely available.

Availability requires space to create connection. It requires creating an intentional block of time in a day that is not already spoken for. It requires the ability to pause long enough to be fully present with another person.

Being reachable is not the same as being present.


We walked into a pub and quickly, the conversation moved beyond work into what was behind the work, including family, health, priorities, pressure, people, and life.

There was a depth to it that does not happen when everyone is racing to the next commitment.

We say relationships matter. We talk about trust, culture, family, and connection as if they are central to our lives, but when the calendar fills up, those priorities often lose to what feels urgent.

There is also a quieter cost.

Pictures of our family become our screensaver, as we lose the time with the people we love. It becomes something we plan to make up when things slow down.

They rarely do.

The conversation I had in Dublin reminded me what happens when we create the space for our priorities. People show up more present, more open, and more real.

Being reachable is different from being present. The relationships we value most require time that we choose to protect.

Your calendar is a reflection or work life imbalance or balance. Don’t allow your calendar to become so full that there is no room left for the conversations, activities, and people who matter most. Take charge of your time, and schedule your priorities and activities that honor your goals, priorities and passions today.

The Deeper Financial and Cultural Cost of Work Life Imbalance

As a leader, what are you modeling for your team. What you invest your time in is what you then value the most.

Take a look at your calendar. Is it a reflection of someone who prioritizes their life and protects those activities, or is dictated by every person, problem, request or reaction? Choose. (Here are some questions you can self -reflect on to assess where you are.)

Because if we are always somewhere else, physically, in our thinking, when traveling, we eventually miss being where we want to be the most.

👉 Here’s 8 self-management hacks for you to take control of your life and create the ideal balanced life you want most.