Perfectionism is often seen as a hindrance to work-lifebalance. After all, the dictionary defines a perfectionist as someone "not satisfied with anything less than perfect" - a mindset that can easily lead to burnout.

In this episode, I explore insights from podcast interviewswhere perfectionism (or the lack of it) has come up. I’ll share the key lessons I've learned along the way, including:

⭐️ 3 essential work-life balance take-aways from people who describe resisting  perfectionism

⭐️ Practical strategies for perfectionists to strike a healthier balance

⭐️ Real-life examples of how perfectionism can both hinder and enhance work-life harmony

Below are some links to other episodes referenced in the show. If you’d like to share your story of work-life balance and perfectionism, get in touch at [email protected].

RELATED EPISODES:

On Being a Perfectionist:

10: On Finding Balance in Grief, Being a High-Achiever &Overcoming Imposter Syndrome-Katie's Story:https://spotifycreators-web.app.link/e/sNiDQWnqiQb

23: On Housekeeping, Middle Age & Finding Work-LifeBalance When Your Marriage Ends - Helen’s Story: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/work-life-balance-confessions-stories-and-tips-to/id1570430336?i=1000652002324.

On Resisting Perfectionism:

6: “Single & Childfree by Choice”. On boundary-setting& doing what makes you happy - Laurie’s Story: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/a-fine-balance/id1570430336?i=1000553872664

16: On Part-Time Working Fatherhood, Perfectionism &Finding Balance With Cancer-Sam's Story: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/work-life-balance-confessions-stories-and-tips-to/id1570430336?i=1000638884267

27: On Flexible Working, Morning Routines & FindingBalance When You Like To Be In Charge - Rebecca’s Story: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/a-fine-balance/id1570430336?i=1000659563287

On Burnout:

3: On burnout and finding balance in the early stages ofworking life - Tahmid’s Story: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/a-fine-balance/id1570430336?i=1000537016359

25: On Work-Life Balance in Marketing and Corporate Jobs,Having Fun & Asking For Help - Dan’s Story: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/a-fine-balance/id1570430336?i=1000656335982

35: On Panic Attacks, Career Changes and Regaining BalanceAfter Hitting Rock Bottom - Routh's Story: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/a-fine-balance/id1570430336?i=1000679434706

In this episode of A Fine Balance, we explore some serious life challenges that can impact a person's work-life balance, through the personal story of my guest Lorna McKenna.

Lorna works full-time in local government, alongside running her passion project of coaching and hosting a personal development podcast called "Evolve & Expand". She is also expecting her first child so is on the cusp of some pretty seismic changes in 2025.

Throughout our conversation, we cover:

💰Lorna's personal journey through debt - the anxiety and shame that came with it, and how it challenged her sense of balance.

🫦What it’s like to struggle with body image and the impact that this, and perpetually striving to lose weight, can have on a person’s work-life balance and mental well-being.

👥Lorna's experience of being let go from a role she had fully invested herself into. This shifted her work-life balance perspective profoundly as she faced the stark reality that "everyone is replaceable ".

🕰️ Plus, we dive into practical tips on how freeing up your schedule can create more balance in both work and home life.

As the first podcast episode of the year and the Season, Lorna and I talk about new beginnings and she shares some wise words on embracing change and new beginnings. I hope the ideas that she shares supports listeners as they consider what finding a work-life balance in 2025 means to them.

RELATED EPISODES:

On diary management and scheduling:

27: On Flexible Working, Morning Routines, and How To Find a Work-Life Balance When You Like to Be In Charge: Rebecca Newenham's Story: https://creators.spotify.com/pod/show/dalya-wittenberg2/episodes/27-On-Flexible-Working--Morning-Routines--Finding-Balance-When-Youre-In-Charge---Rebeccas-Story-e2jd8tu/a-aaoejho

On debt and financial worries: 

25: On Work-Life Balance in Marketing and Corporate Jobs, Having Fun & Asking for Help - Dan Knowlton's Story: https://creators.spotify.com/pod/show/dalya-wittenberg2/episodes/25-On-Work-Life-Balance-in-Marketing-and-Corporate-Jobs--Having-Fun--Asking-For-Help---Dans-Story-e2i8717/a-aaoejho

You can listen to my interview on Lorna's podcast, "Evolve & Expand", here: https://creators.spotify.com/pod/show/lorna-mckenna/episodes/83-Creating-Your-Own-Version-of-Balance-with-Dalya-Wittenberg-e2hmns6/a-ab47245

In the spirit of the upcoming holidays, this episode of “A Fine Balance” touches on the past, present and future of the podcast.

On the past, I take a look back at what prompted me to create a podcast that delves into the subject of how different people pursue their balance between work and everything else in life.

On the present, I share a gift that’s available right now for any listeners curious to explore where you stand in balancing your work with everything else in life: the Work, Life, Balance Self-Assessment tool.

To download the self-assessment for free from the website go to www.a-fine-balance.com, and for guidance on how to get use it to its full effect, check out Episode 34: Work, Life, Balance Self-Assessment: a Tool for Reflecting on Your Personal Pursuit of Balance

And finally, looking ahead to the future, I share a few teasers on what’s to come in Season 4 of the podcast, which is due to launch in 2025.

Wishing all my listeners an enjoyable holiday period, and one that enables you to find a sense of balance, whatever that means for you.

You can read more about the podcast's backstory on these blog posts:

A Fine Balance - A Fine Balance © A Fine Balance

Lockdown 2.0: The Next Chapter - A Fine Balance © A Fine Balance

Work-Life Balance Profiles: An Introduction - A Fine Balance © A Fine Balance

9/11 marked a dramatic turning point in the working life of this episode's guest, Routh Chadwick, a New York resident who at the time was an aspiring actress.

The career changes that evolved from thereon maintained a degree of drama, as Routh went on to train as a clinical social worker and counsellor.

From TV sets as a counsellor on the Jeremy Kyle show, to caring for patients on the psych ward, Routh's work-life balance limits were tested, leading her to set the boundaries she has in place today between her work and everything else in life.

In this episode, as well as hearing her own fascinating work-life balance story , Routh shares her professional expertise on the pursuit of balance, including:

*The impact that smartphones and social media have on the pursuit of balance

*Recovering from experiencing panic attacks at work

*Overcoming burn-out

*Finding a balance between being a creative, and seeking stability

*The pursuit of balance when you're child-free

RELATED EPISODES:

On finding balance when you have a smartphone and engage in social media:

https://spotifycreators-web.app.link/e/G61tbY7G5Ob

https://spotifycreators-web.app.link/e/0UjjK17G5Ob

On being child-free:

https://spotifycreators-web.app.link/e/uN3C77hH5Ob

On burn-out:

https://spotifycreators-web.app.link/e/xjHWFdiH5Ob

https://spotifycreators-web.app.link/e/xUBeNc8G5Ob

https://spotifycreators-web.app.link/e/RU0kHOoH5Ob

This podcast episode is a quick introduction and guide to a new tool, which has recently launched on the website, www.a-fine-balance.com, called the "Work, Life, Balance Self-Assessment".

If you've downloaded the self-assessment, or are considering doing it, then take a listen to this episode to get some ideas about how to complete the assessment, what to bear in mind as you do, and for some additional questions to prompt more in-depth introspection.

If you'd like to share your experience of completing the Work, Life, Balance Self-Assessment, then get in touch as [email protected].

In this episode of A Fine Balance – The Podcast, I’m joined by Faust Ruggiero, a US-based therapist and author whose career spans over 35 years of working with people from all walks of life. From his time in clinics, prisons, and inpatient facilities to his role as a consultant for major corporations, Faust brings a wealth of knowledge and practical insight.

Throughout our conversation, Faust introduces his “process life program,” a method he developed to help people find inner balance across four key areas: physical, intellectual, emotional, and spiritual.

He also shares his personal journey of balancing a full-time practice with raising four children, leading to the creation of The Fix Yourself Empowerment Series—a collection of guides focused on overcoming common struggles like anxiety, depression, and anger.

This episode is for you if:

- You're interested in reflecting on what balance really means, both in work and in life;

- You'd like to learn some tips for creating a sense of calm and stability from within;

- You work as a therapist and would like to understand the work-life balance challenges that like-minded professionals contend with and how they overcome them.

If this episode resonates with you, you may also want to check out Episode #7 from our back catalogue: Five Steps to Improve Your Work-Life Balance - with Annabel Jeffcoate https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/dalya-wittenberg2/episodes/7-BONUS-EPISODE-Five-Steps-to-Improve-Your-Work-Life-Balance---with-Annabel-Jeffcoate-e1gvjkt

Meanwhile, I hope listeners enjoy this final

You can join the online 'A Fine Balance' community by looking up our page on LinkedIn, and following @afinebalance_podcast on Instagram.

Does escaping the rat race improve work-life balance?

What does it take to make this work-life balance choice work?

Does it afford a person a less stressful lifestyle overall?

And why don’t more people go for it?

This is the episode for you if...

⭐️ You’re finding the pace of city living stressful, overwhelming and lacking purpose

⭐️ You’ve always wondered what it would be like to move away from the city and base yourself somewhere closer to places of natural beauty

⭐️You’re generally interested in learning from how other people find a balance between work and everything else in life

With days drawing dark earlier, and an autumnal chill in the air, the summer holidays already feel like a distant memory. But I'm holding on to some of the benefits that I felt from taking a break from my usual work and home routine to go on a family holiday, and to think about work-life balance from a different perspective.

In this episode, I reflect on the lessons I learned about:

The episode includes four short stories of people that I encoutered who had made (and raved about!) this work-life balance choice.

I then reflect on the Work, Life, Balance Lessons they taught me, considering these lessons through the prism of three key pillars I’ve concluded are essential to achieving a personal balance:

individuality, fluidity, and intentionality

For more, go to www.a-fine-balance.com/podcast.

Work-life balance isn’t typically a topic you’d associate with single, young professionals with no caring responsibilities. Yet, as this episode's guest, a business development manager and creator of the Single Sounds podcast, Katie McNamara shares, this is a time in life when there’s a lot going on.

When you're starting out in your career and independent life, there are plenty of decisions that need to be taken about how to spend your time and set your priorities.

To name but a few… social arrangements, work commitments and building on career ambitions, developing extra-curricular interests and fitness, maintaining family connections, independent living (cooking, cleaning for yourself, and/or navigating shared living with housemates).

And then, for those looking for love, there’s the additional preoccupation of dating and all that that involves: making time to peruse apps, chat online with potential partners, go on dates etc… Like I said, there’s a lot going on.

Finding balance amidst it all is just as valid at this stage of life as it is for the people that I’ve interviewed who are in relationships and have caring responsibilities to juggle on top of their careers. Interviewing Katie provided an abundance of insight into the pursuit of balance when you’re single and looking for love - and lots more besides (including some deeply existential questions about the meaning of life).

This work life balance lesson episode explores which is better for your work-life balance: being self-employed or employed?

To do this, I've summarised the lessons I’ve learned

I've also done a bit of number-crunching to find out,

Have you ever wondered if the grass is greener on the

Perhaps you are self-employed and considering

Or you currently work for someone and want to break away to start up your own thing.

Or maybe you’re just generally interested in how people

If so, then this episode is for you!

Here are the links to some of the blog and podcast

On Being Self-Employed:

“Multitasking Mastery: A Seamless

https://a-fine-balance.com/2022/01/12/multitasking-mastery-a-seamless-work-life-blend-adunolas-story-on-finding-balance-after-being-let-down-by-an-employer-valuing-financial-independence-within-a-marri/

5: On Marriage, Self-Employment & Primary Care-Giving: “Motherhood & the Mental Load”- Sarah’s Story

6: “Single & Childfree by Choice”. On boundary-setting & doing what makes you happy - Laurie’s Story

25: On Marketing, Corporate Cultures, Having Fun &

27: On Flexible Working, Morning Routines & Finding

On Being Employed:

3: On burnout and finding balance

8: “Finding Balance in Retirement”. On Leadership,

https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/dalya-wittenberg2/episodes/8-Finding-Balance-in-Retirement--On-Leadership--Imposter-Syndrome--Managing-Passions-Toms-Story-e1j56id

12: On Finding Balance When You Want To “Have It All”,

https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/dalya-wittenberg2/episodes/12-On-Finding-Balance-When-You-Want-To-Have-It-All--Teamwork--Avoiding-Stress---Ruths-Story-e21kt2u

21: On Finding Balance as an Introvert in a Family and

For more blog and podcast interviews showcasing the