no such thing as work-life balance

There's no such thing as work-life balance. There are work-life choices, and you make them, and they have consequences. 

Jack Welch

Top Inspiring Thoughts of Jack Welch by M.D. Sharma. Prabhat Prakashan. 2021. As found in 2022 Great Quotes From Great Leaders Boxed Calendar: 365 Inspirational Quotes From Leaders Who Shaped the World. 

family responsibilities

This is a story about President-elect Joe Biden, and a letter that he wrote to his staff that just became public....

The letter is from 2014, when the president-elect was serving in his second term as vice president. It runs only 126 words, after the simple greeting, "To My Wonderful Staff:"

From there, it goes like this:

I would like to take a moment and make something clear to everyone. I do not expect nor do I want any of you to miss or sacrifice important family obligations for work. 

Family obligations include but are not limited to family birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, any religious ceremonies such as first communions and bar mitzvahs, graduations, and time of need such as an illness or a loss in the family. 

This is very important to me. In fact, I will go so far as to say that if I find out that you are working with me while missing important family responsibilities, it will disappoint me greatly. This has been an unwritten rule since my days in the Senate. 

Thank you for all the hard work.

...[This letter] lets everyone know the boss's priorities....

Second, it's incredibly empathetic.

This is the core of the message -- Biden telling his team that he expects them to set priorities, and that work is not always the top priority. 

Bill Murphy, Jr.

"Joe Biden Wrote an Incredibly Inspiring Letter to His Staff. Every Smart Leader Should Copy It" Inc. November 21, 2020

what if

Life is full of decisions. From seemingly small decisions like what to eat for dinner, too much more consequential ones such as choosing a career to pursue, we are all faced with numerous choices on a daily basis. It’s human nature to look back at the roads we didn’t take and wonder, “What if?” Yet a new survey conducted in England has revealed that a staggering amount of people are unhappy with the way they’ve lived their lives.

According to a survey of 2,000 British adults commissioned by UK charity consortium Remember A Charity, four out of ten people regret how they have lived their lives so far. Spending too much time at work and not traveling enough were among respondents’ biggest regrets.

Other common regrets among those surveyed included neglecting their health and not spending enough time with their family. Many wished they had been a better parent to their children. All of that regret seems to be a big motivator as well, with 40% of respondents claiming that they want to make some positive changes in the near future...

Interestingly, close to half of those surveyed said they regret focusing so much on financial success as opposed to more meaningful endeavors.

John Anderer

"Hindsight Is 20/20: 4 Out Of 10 Adults Regret Their Life Choices". StudyFinds. July 22, 2019.