Introducing... The Work-Life Harmony Method

When I started this newsletter, I was lost.

Two years ago I sent an email asking what it means to ‘live well’ and I was moved by the response. I couldn’t quite believe that thousands of people would want to read my meandering thoughts on life. Much less, over 20,000.

In that first official newsletter, I wrote about battling a dark depression and trying to figure out what a life worth living looked like. Readers wrote back with their perspectives:

“Living well for me is… the joy of creating new experiences & memories with people”

“It is the simple things in life that brings us happiness & who we are is far superior to what we do.”

“Living well is the ability to journey through the challenges of life and realising that you are the original spectator to your experience. I have grown to realise that it doesn’t matter what other people’s perception to my situation is but what’s important is the realisation of what is at the core of you.”

“To live well? I think it’s to carve one’s own path and make the most of it in whatever way brings meaning and fulfilment.”

“A life worth living is one where I understand that peace and rest are just as important as having a good career.”

These thoughts prompted me on a journey to figuring out what it meant for me to live well. I began to rethink every single message I’d internalised about success and explored that in this newsletter.

As I returned to a new type of work postpartum after exiting my first business early and started rebuilding my life after health & family challenges, I found the steady rhythm of writing a newsletter each month oddly grounding.

This Substack sort of anchored me through the chaos of exploring, then defining, my ideal career… something I hadn’t had to think about since I chose what to study at university when I was 17. My career had just sort of happened to me. I hadn’t needed to plan.

It was uncomfortable to figure out work and life in public, yet also somewhat grounding. As things became clearer, I turned my focus to figuring out what I could give back to this community and I started to create audio courses on requested topics, then I developed my first Work-Life Harmony web app.

People told me it was helpful, so over the last year I’ve suppressed the urge to delete or drastically change the newsletter.

But recently writing this newsletter has felt off… Somewhat constraining and no longer grounding. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing…

I suppose, in a way, when I first started, I needed you guys. I needed this community to validate my projects and experiments and to respond to my ideas with insights and enthusiasm. But now I’m in a much different place and the newsletter title was starting to feel a little self-indulgent…

I want the focus to be on what you need. So we’re changing things.

The Work-Life Harmony Method is about giving back to the community that’s given me so much.

Before that first newsletter, I’d already found out the hard way that work-life balance is a myth. I knew you couldn’t do everything at once, and I’d learnt that even just attempting to keep everything balanced is an exhausting path to burnout.

What slowly became clear was just how much living well is about creating Work-Life Harmony.

Creating Work-Life Harmony involves designing a life where your ambitions, relationships, creativity, health and wellbeing work together, in line with your values, instead of constantly competing for limited resources.

Work-Life Harmony allows me to run businesses, serve on boards, volunteer, write, workout and still show up fully for my family and community without losing myself.

This newsletter has slowly been becoming a place to explore Work-Life Harmony in practice. Now I’m making that more official.

The Work Life Harmony Method is a newsletter to help you on your journey, whether you’re a founder, creative, leader, professional or hyphenate.

I’m keeping the parts of the newsletter that you’ve told me are helpful, and shedding the rest.

Here’s what you’ll get each month:

• Rachael’s Harmony Experiments: rhythms, boundaries & systems I’m testing as I learn to maintain Work-Life Harmony whilst raising 4 kids, serving on boards, volunteering, writing and building a new business

• Joy Bringers: things I’m reading, watching & enjoying. Sometimes with offers on products and services I think you’ll love

• Creative Sparks: stories, art and ideas for nourishing imagination and sparking inspiration

• Opportunities & Resources: Practical support for your Work-Life Harmony journey from funding to courses, job openings to events as well as tools and research

• The Harmony Question: reflective prompts for us to discuss here or for you to use when journaling

Thanks for reading to the end! I hope The Work-Life Harmony Method helps you to live well.

xoxo – Rachael

P.S. I love hearing from readers, so please reply and tell me what Work-Life Harmony looks like in your life right now (or what you’d like it to look like if you’re not quite there yet.)