In search of the elusive balance between work and personal life, step by step

NEW YORK – The moment when I realized that I had to take this seriously work-life balance came without warning. I was writing a high-profile news story during the pandemic when my heart started pounding like a jackhammer.

I took a quick deep breath and held it, hoping to calm the arrhythmia. It was a technique I learned to relieve the occasional heart palpitations caused by my rare condition. congenital heart disease. But this time it was different. The room grew dark. I didn’t see it. Then, just as quickly, the sight returned.

In the following days, I realized that I needed to have defibrillator surgically implanted as soon as possible. The cardiologist told me: it’s time reduce stress. It was a recipe that I, like many Americans, did not know how to follow, especially as a parent of a young child.

But health concerns and a cancer diagnosis meant I had to give it a try. Now, as I continue this journey, I start series under the title “Works well”. As I explore ways to improve my own well-being at work, I’ll share expert insights and advice with readers hoping to do the same.

We’ve been through a lot in the past few years: a global pandemic took the lives of loved ones and left his parents juggling a full-time job with no childcare. College graduates find their first professional jobs without friends or personal mentors. Election and war separated families and workplaces. No wonder employees feel burned out.

But along with these difficulties came a growing sense that we could choose to build our professional life in a different, healthier way. Companies experimented with hybrid work models. Younger generations spoke more actively about mental health. Employers who want to retain employees have started their own businesses yoga and stress reduction programs.

The Associated Press wants to contribute to the workplace wellness conversation. In the coming months, we plan to interview doctors, therapists, managers, and coaches about the changes they recommend or have made to improve employees’ lives—things you might want to consider, too.

The topic is personal for me. After getting my defibrillator, I took steps to find that elusive work-life balance. I experimented with a four-day work week. It helped me find time to exercise, cook healthy meals, and take breaks from time to time.

Once I got into the groove, a routine mammography breast cancer was detected. There would be an operation. I was given intimidating handouts and told bluntly about procedures that made me feel like a piece of meat. There will be months of chemotherapy. Thirty rounds of radiation. My heart condition complicated every treatment plan.

With a life-threatening diagnosis also came lessons in healing. For the first time in my life, I was forced to slow down enough to listen to my body. When I was tired after dinner, instead of chocolate or coffeei took sleep. I timed chemotherapy so that I would be well enough to walk to the bus stop on my son’s first day of kindergarten, celebrate his birthday, and walk around the houses on Halloween.

My oncologist encouraged me to exercise because of chemotherapy. I swam in the city pool under the green leaves of the oak trees, changing my wig or turban inconspicuously for a swimming cap. I tried yin yoga. I was walking When I felt dizzy, I rested. When I felt stronger, I rode the exercise bike and made crackers.

I started practicing acupuncture. I finally tried meditation. I learned that there is a whole host of support networks for this disease, unlike my heart disease. Social workers reached out to me every step of the way.

At one point I had three therapists. One taught me a calming technique that I used on the way to the PET scan. In the car, weaving through heavy traffic driven by my husband, my head began to spin, my fingers tingled as I imagined the radiologist finding inoperable tumors all over my body. I remembered the therapist’s advice: name five things you can see. Four things you might hear. Three things you can feel. Two things that can be felt. One can be tasted. I tried it. The panic subsided.

Eventually, my body healed enough that I could go back to work. But I was changed. I still had brain fog and fatigue, the side effects of chemotherapy and radiation. How would I perform? Did you manage to maintain your health and prosper in your career?

On my way back I wanted to continue health habits that cancer, after derailing me from the rut that was my life, gave me time to start. Writing stories that help others, including this series, is a way to do that.

At Working Well, I will share stories of inspiring workers who have overcome adversity and actively improved their health. I will discuss topics ranging from how to negotiate a new schedule to navigating the workplace with health issues.

I want to hear your experience too. Have you overcome a major obstacle at work? Adopted new habits? Have you found balance or not as a working parent? Share your stories and questions about workplace wellness at [email protected]. We work well together.