Reply to Question for moms: did going part-time solve your work-life balance problem?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]For me it has been great ( psychologist, home office). But of course not without conflict. Earlier on I did feel a self esteem/identity drop because I was no longer singularly focused on my career as I was before kids. But now many years in and in my fifties it has been a lifesaver, particularly when my kids became teens, one of them was diagnosed with a health issue and needed me more as we navigated appointments, some medical crisis, etc. She's well now but it was a demanding two years. My parents are aging too and live in another state so having more flexibility helps there too. I take the long view on careers...it's good to pace yourself if you can and also to keep in mind you are not a machine. As kids hit adolescence it can get more complicated. It's good to have some bandwidth for that. Having a supportive partner helps too. I do do a lot at home but not everything. He cooks and contributes in different ways, we are partners and yes I kept my cleaning person every two weeks. [/quote]

How part time did you go that you felt you were not “singularly focused on your career”? When as a lawyer I dropped to 30-ish hours a week, I still felt like work filled up a huge part of my day and was the primary thing I was doing all day. [/quote]

This makes sense...so for therapists part time clinical work  (meaning *billable hours)  is in my estimate, below twenty hours per week, since having kids I do about 15 clinical hours, sometimes less, per week. I sometimes  take classes virtually or seek out a colleague for consultation on difficult cases. as well but these are choices,and obviously not income producing but they improve my clinical work and build connections. This spring I am teaching.  Admin and returning calls take maybe an hour or two 
per week. I write quick notes during virtual sessions or briefly after in person sessions.

I have the pros and cons if pt work.  I have a job that is fascinating and demanding and I have built an ideal practice I love.

At the same time,  I don't make the money my full time colleagues make, obviously, I have not  I made a big name for myself ( though I think I am known enough and my work is respected). I try to do excellent work, over many years in my own little practice basically and I make the effort to be involved enough in my main professional organization. I am not  a professional superstar though. But I do have a loving family I get to enjoy and enough space and time in my life to see friends, parent, have an organized house and good marriage and to not have burned out basically. I am slow and steady. For better or worse. I can feel bad if I compare myself to my top tier colleagues. But most of the time I feel really good about my part time career. It just took time to get there. I woukd say it's a process like anything else. You try it and then tweak it if you need to. Or tweak your expectations[/quote]

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