b'28 LeadershipThe Balance TrapDedicated to keeping its members at the forefront in their industryY ouve been lied to. inbuzzwords.Soldasatrying to achieve. that happens while you areBy: Ray GageItwaswrappedIs life something productivity hack. Endorsed by HR, TED Talks,doing work, or is work something that happens and time management gurus alike. while you are doing life? Start with Stop, Chapter 1Its called work-life balanceand it doesnt exist.Not in the way youve been told to chase it. The Pandemic Pulled Back the CurtainYou dont need more time. You dont need a better app.When COVID-19 upended daily routines, it also exposed You dont need a fourth color-coded calendar that syncsthe fragility of the work-life myth. As people were forced across your devices. to work from home, the illusion that these two aspects of You need a reframe. life could be neatly divided shattered. People didnt resist going back to the office because they were lazy. They The idea of work-life balance is built on a false premise:resistedbecause,forthefirsttime,theyexperienced that work and life are two opposing forces to be managed,something different: life-first living.as if youre standing on a teeter-totter, trying to keep bothIt wasnt about convenience. It was about clarity.sidesperfectlylevel.Thatsnotbalance.ThatsstressThe kind of clarity that makes you ask: What am I really disguised as strategy. doing all this for?And nowhere is this more obvious than in industries like constructionwherelonghours,relentlessschedules,A Personal Reality Checkand high demands are often treated as a badge of honor. When my oldest son was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins But heres the reality: when life becomes what happens inLymphomaasahighschooljunior,balancewasnt between your work, youve already lost the balance youresomething I had time to think about.The InsulatorJuly 2025'