Work Life Balance
(Mondays + 4 other days) x work tasks = work days ÷ (fun mid-week evenings + fun weekends)
= perfect life balance
So, that pretty much sums up my week (Andrea dissected that equation and told me I’m missing one variable...whatever that means). What matters is that I think I may have mastered the perfect balance between life and work. Some may think it’s not possible, some may even think it doesn’t exist...but I’ve figured it out.
This past week has been an amazing blend of work and play (and eating and sleeping) and I cannot recall ever cramming so much into a seven day period. I seem to be leading a life of two opposing worlds where by day, I feel like a local resident going about my work day routine: run, metro/bicing, coffee, work.. but by night I feel like an exploring tourist. Amazed and excited by every street I walk down, every building I see and activity this beautiful city has to offer, making the most of every spare minute I have just to make certain I see as much as I can in these 3 months. It’s like two worlds colliding and it has come to be a very unique part of my experience here and something I highly value. How often is one able to enjoy life in such a way?
This week at work I’ve been kept nice and busy doing more visual design work for various projects (which I love doing) and also being involved in a day-long strategy workshop with the whole Europe team. The day was really productive and it was great to see how the workshop was organised in order to get the most out of our time and resources. A mixture of group activities, whole team activities and brainstorming sessions were incorporated into the workshop and an external company also came in for a couple of hours to provide some inspiration, direction and tools to aid our session. I found the day insightful and learned quite a lot (and rather enjoyed the pan au chocolat we had for breakfast). So aside from an assessment deadline approaching, work life is pretty on-track here in Barcelona.
As I write this, it is early on a Monday morning and I am slowly recovering from a very late Sunday evening flight after a beautiful weekend in Rome. See, I told you - just a casual weekend in Italy = work life balance! Just the thought of simply hopping on a 1.5 hour flight and suddenly you're in Italy for a weekend is mind-boggling and makes me think about how lucky I am to be in this position. Aside from going way too quickly and eating way too much, it was a really surreal and exciting way to spend the AFL grand final weekend.
It all began on Friday afternoon when I set off after work to catch my flight. The sun was beaming down as I strolled towards the nearest metro with a spring in my step. As I descended down the metro stairs to enter the underground, I was excited at the thought that in 30 minutes, I would return to ground level to find myself in Barcelona airport. The flight was quick, too quick. It didn’t seem right. When I heard the announcement “Cabin crew, prepare for landing”. I thought for a quick second that I had forgotten how to speak english and mis-understood what the pilot was saying. I had only just settled into reading my book! Yet, within minutes I would be on the ground in Rome.
Rome holds a very vague yet fond memory in my mind created when I was just 12 years old travelling Europe with my family. I wondered if it would be different to how I'd remembered it. I wondered if it had changed? I guess the amazing part about Rome is that it doesn’t really change, I mean the historic buildings and ruins have stayed the same for thousands of years, so why would it change now? Well the good news is that Rome stayed true to it's ways. The sites, the streets, the feeling, the impeccably dressed locals, it was all as I had remembered it. All weekend I continually experienced flashbacks of memories I never knew I had, prompted by looking at things I had seen before and going to places that I had been when I was a child. A very overwhelming, yet nice feeling. And the best part? My whole family was able to meet me there to experience it with me! My parents, my Brother, my partner and his family were ALL there with me! Another highlight was waking up at 5.30am on Saturday to go to the pub and watch the AFL grand final. It was a bit surreal and slightly strange (watching Aussie football... in an Irish pub... in Rome) but it was one of those one-off, amazing experiences.
So after a week of creativity and strategy, my weekend in Rome meant I was able to enjoy the company of my favourite people, in an amazing city, with beautiful weather and even better food and wine. I couldn’t have asked for anything more. It was perfect. I will always look back on that weekend as one of my favourite memories. I feel very happy and content and cannot wait to see what next week brings!
Until next time, Ciao! xx