Balancing work and family

Matt Pearl

Few frustrations in life equal that of having too many things to do on a daily basis–only to find that we have far less time than we desire.

Wednesday is a fairly busy day around our offices: it is completion day for both The Tri-County News and The Grant City Times-Tribune, which means we have to show a fair amount of hustle around the place. That’s not a problem, except for this year, Wednesday was also my wife’s birthday.

Now work is work, and family is family, you need both, you care about both, but the work schedule seems also to be the more concrete of the two, and family too often receives the rest of our time after our work is complete.

Emily and I are in this together, and in fact Wednesday is the day of each week that puts the most demands upon her time in publishing. So she understood that her birthday was not exactly destined to be a record-setter. Still, the whole incident had me thinking about life’s continual hectic nature, and how at times we seem powerless within the confines of our daily schedules.

And for what? Money? A promotion? Maybe a little prestige or opportunity here or there?

Those things can’t really be our top priorities, can they? I remember being in college at a time when there were only about $30 in my checking account and maybe less on my campus meal card: but during that period of near poverty, I was having some of the best times of my life. Money isn’t everything, and in terms of happiness, it isn’t very important at all.

So I have endeavored lately to adopt a bit healthier perspective on my professional life. In this life, I get to be a husband, father, son, brother, friend–all roles I treasure more than publisher, a job that I truly do love. I am not a publisher/editor who moonlights as a husband and dad: if I do so, then I am passing on the best part of my life in favor of focusing upon my profession.

My job is important to me, but a moment of honesty will reveal to you and me an important truth: you could work at 100 jobs other than the one you have, and your family would still love you. I could still be a teacher, or I could be a postal carrier or sandwich artist, and my kids would still call me Dad.

What else matters? It all puts our career ambitions into perspective, doesn’t it?

I have ambitions in my professional field. Our organization has worked to grow over the past several years, and we are proud of the work we do. But to be better at work, I have finally learned that I have to be the best man I can be at home.

Like so many lessons in life, this one has been a long time in the learning. And I still fall short every week–perhaps in one way or another every day–of the mark I have set for expectations in myself. If only the day had a few more hours, I sometimes allow myself to think.

Prioritizing time and tasks is a skill I constantly reexamine in my own life, and making time for the people most important to me is an effort that holds an important payoff.

I get to be the family man who goes to work each day, rather than the working man who tries to squeeze in a decent family life. The difference between the two? Priorities and mind-set.

When I was a high school student, going to the schoolhouse for the day held little appeal. Earning a diploma and moving on to the next phase of my life held a magnetic draw to me. So it is today in life: going to work for work’s sake isn’t overly attractive, but working to provide for a happy home represents the best part of me.

Matt Pearl owns and operates newspapers in King City, Albany, and Grant City.