Finding Work-Life Balance as a Designer and a Mother

Balancing work and motherhood is incredibly challenging. It’s a journey filled with guilt, doubt, and resilience. As creatives, we often become emotionally attached to our work, making this journey even more complex.

I’m a designer and a mother, and I love creative work. It’s deeply important to me and a big part of who I am. When my son was born, my identity split in two: one part of me wanted to work on creative projects and bring new ideas to life, while another part longed to slow down and fully experience motherhood. I quickly realized I wasn’t alone. I saw other women facing the same challenges: wanting to do fulfilling creative work while also feeling a sense of integrity and peace in their roles as mothers. And so, I began searching for an answer: Is it possible to do both?

There were many lessons along the way, but here are the most significant ones:

Our Work Evolves as Our Life Changes

We spend a significant portion of our lives working, and when profound changes happen in our lives, our work naturally evolves too. If we don’t acknowledge this and align our work with our life circumstances, we’ll inevitably feel disconnected, imbalanced and frustrated because who we are at work and who we are outside of work are ultimately the same.

There were times in my career when I didn’t think about work-life balance simply because it wasn’t important to me at that moment. I didn’t have another human being dependent on me, someone who needed my care and attention. As much as I sometimes miss those days, I’m in a different season in life now. My work is different now, and that’s okay.

It’s Okay to Downshift Your Career

Recently, I made an intentional decision to downshift my career. After spending years in design leadership, I transitioned to an individual contributor role. It wasn’t an easy decision, and I had many fears: Am I sabotaging my career by taking a step back? How will it look on LinkedIn and my resume? What if I’ve lost my design skills after years in leadership?

In addition to changing my title, I also moved to contract and freelance work—a significant departure from the comfort and stability of a full-time job that I’d known for so many years.

Despite my fears, I didn’t permanently damage my career. In fact, I continued to learn and grow, just in a different way. Slowing down allowed me to do less but more intentional and meaningful work. Most importantly, it allowed me to get as close as I’ve ever been to the feeling of balance between work and life.

It Doesn’t Need to Be Forever

There’s a cognitive bias called the End of History Illusion. It’s the tendency to believe that our current situation, personality, emotions, and circumstances will remain relatively stable in the future, even though we’ve changed significantly in the past.

I used to get trapped in this type of thinking, but it’s not productive. In fact, it’s misleading because nothing stays the same—everything changes. A healthier approach is to see each phase as temporary: This is how it is right now. This is what’s best for me right now. But it might not be this way a month or even a few months from now, and that’s perfectly okay.

“The two most powerful words in my vocabulary – right now. Right now frees us to make the best choice for right now.” – Neha Ruch