August 19th, the first day of school, is a day that has been circled on my calendar for a long time. I’ve had the great joy - and quite the adventure - of having my kids (3 and 6 years old) home with me for much of the summer.
That time is almost over, and they’ll be going off to preschool and kindergarten, where my home office will be quiet once again.
As you can imagine, having two little kids in the house while trying to work can be…a lot.
There are moments of great joy, as you see your kids develop little bits of independence and let their creativity flourish.
On the other hand, there are times you’re trying to talk to a client while your oldest loudly grills Alexa for details about his favorite Super Smash Brothers characters.
Through the highs and the lows, having my kids with me this summer has taught me an invaluable lesson in patience and flexibility. I’ve learned to ride the waves and remember that every moment of frustration will eventually be replaced with something that will inspire me to quickly open the camera on my phone and ensure the memory of something sweet is preserved.
I normally try to translate these personal lessons into broader truths about life as a fundraiser, but that isn’t the case here. Rather, this summer taught me a bigger lesson about how our workplaces can function and how work and life can not only be balanced, but integrated.
I’ve recently been interested in the idea that work-life balance is a bit of a misnomer; keeping work and life in their own, clearly defined categories sounds nice, but is practically impossible. Rather, the goal should be work-life integration. Our jobs and our lives are core parts of us, and we’re at our best when those parts can coexist effectively with each other.
This summer, the idea of work-life integration meant shifting gears quickly between writing a grant and helping one of my kids find a new episode of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse to watch. I didn’t have time set aside for one task and then time set aside for another; instead, I had a time where I could switch between both and do what was needed.
It’s not easy, and it’s not without its hiccups, but I know our workplaces would be stronger if we embraced that approach and gave staff greater latitude to integrate their work into their lives.
Most importantly, this type of flexibility will allow us to better retain staff in a climate where there is still considerable turnover and instability in fundraising careers.
People stay in jobs where they don’t feel like they need to sacrifice parts of themselves, and the nonprofit sector needs to lead the way in approaching jobs in an empowering manner.
I’ll be the first to say that this doesn’t work for every job and every circumstance - and I’d likely lose my mind before I’d work full-time with my kids for more than just a summer.
However, the ability to do this for the summer is how I know my work is bigger than a job. The ability to integrate my life and my work is why I see what I do now as a long-term calling and not merely a stop on my career journey.
I can’t wait to send my kids off to school, but I won’t forget the joy I’ve experienced this summer - including taking the kids to visit one of our long-running clients, the Clearwater Marine Aquarium, where they got to touch stingrays and have their minds blown by the fact that this is the kind of thing I get to do when I’m on Zoom calls all day.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to enjoy a cup of coffee and do my work in a quiet house - but not without a healthy appreciation of the times when it isn’t so quiet.
But, if you still enjoy talking with me about how we can help grow your fundraising with a little bit of background noise---there is still a year-old pup in the house/office so reach out to us anytime- we are www.teamkatandmouse.com (and Sheepadoodle)
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