I’m sure we are all guilty of leaning toward one side of this dilemma instead of striking that perfect middle ground. After all, life doesn’t pan out how we always think it will, and who knows when things will actually go right with work? As the workload ramps up for my PhD research and life kicks back into gear following the holiday break, I want to take some time to nail it into my head what I need to do to find this work-life balance and stick to it.

In 2025, I juggled these two pretty well, but there are certainly times I fumbled the ball and gave up something I wish I could’ve utilised more. For example, the more I worked on my PhD ethics application and confirmation of candidature for work and my reading and reviews for ‘life’, the less time I spent replenishing my energy by simply taking time out to enjoy life. I wanted to have days where I gave myself the time to enjoy the outdoors, where I just sat in a cafe and drank coffee, soaking up the atmosphere and rewarding the hard work I put into my projects. Time escaped me; reading became my focus for free time, and things stopped feeling easy, instead becoming structured and forced.

You see, I am not just susceptible to putting so much time and energy into my work without giving myself a proper break. I am also guilty of spending my breaks on things that are not truly for myself, like reviews for fellow readers and creating content for my bookstagram. A few hours in the middle of the week could result in me attempting a new idea for posting, only to get irritated by Canva and give up trying to save the image without things looking off. It would result in nothing new to post, more stress about posting something creative and fun, and no more free time. Or I would try to read more to have more reviews to share at the expense of my recharging time. I almost had an all-or-nothing mindset where I had to make the most of the time to try and get the new best thing out, only to get tired quicker and struggle to recover in time for my arbitrary schedules.

So, in 2026, I am enforcing my work-life balance foundations. First and foremost, there needs to be at least one day in the week where I am out of the house for several hours that isn’t tied to my PhD work. I can go window shopping, go to a library or a cafe, go for a walk, or plan a lunch outing with a friend. I have yet to visit bookstores I know are near uni because I instilled it in me to be in town for uni and then head home. I wouldn’t let myself wander. I wouldn’t treat myself. Even the museum, which is on route between uni and the train station, I would neglect visiting without a purpose. I don’t want that to be the case this year, and if anything, I want to make the most of the fact that there are so many ways I can enjoy my time and recharge without the city.

In terms of everyday plans, I tend to get the balance right when there are things to do, but when there is less demand or a looser deadline in my workload, I lean into my reading a lot more. This can be good, as I do find a lot of relaxation in reading, no matter the genre. I have already reconsidered some of the plans for this blog that I trialled in 2025, and I know what my limits are, so I know when to stop when it comes to forcing myself to read. I think more than anything, I just want to be able to reconnect with hobbies I haven’t indulged in for some time now, like doing puzzles, painting, baking, gardening, and so on. Not giving myself the time away from the main things can be so draining and isolating, and I feel less authentic as a person for restricting myself from enjoying the many pastimes I know I could be doing.

This is a little long-winded, but I guess the way I will be sticking to a work-life balance in 2026 is by keeping things varied. Taking myself out for breaks, letting myself enjoy things I haven’t done in a bit, trying new things, and letting myself experience things outside of my work and reading. I am going to need all the inspiration and energy I can get over the next two years, so I am really going to need to keep reminding myself of all this. Hopefully, this is helpful for you, too.