Rethinking work-life balance
AS accountants, we are trained to produce a trial balance — one where debits and credits match perfectly, down to the last centavo. We do spend hours hunting for that stubborn one peso discrepancy, refusing to rest until the trial balance finally comes together.
Naturally, many of us carry this same mindset into our personal lives, striving for what we’ve long been told is the ideal: “work-life balance.” Precision is our instinct; balance is our goal.
For years, “work-life balance” has been framed as an achievement, proof that we have mastered the art of living. Yet, for most people, the pursuit feels less like balance and more like walking on a tightrope — exhausting, unrealistic and often filled with guilt. We chase equilibrium the way we chase that missing peso, believing that if we just try harder, we will finally get life to reconcile.
However, when we look closely at our lives as accountants — regardless of the sector we serve — we eventually realize that the perfect equilibrium we achieve in our spreadsheets simply does not exist in our schedules. Life refuses to reconcile the way our ledgers do.
The truth is simpler and far more liberating: work-life balance, at least in the way it is popularly defined, is a myth. The goal is not perfect symmetry nor a flawless 50–50 split. What truly matters is learning to place the right things in the right places, at the right time.
This idea echoes the wisdom of leaders who have spent their lives navigating pressure, ambition and responsibility.
Jack Ma, founder of Alibaba, once emphasized that life is not about chasing perfection, but about understanding priorities. He often reminded his audiences that you can’t carry everything at once — that different seasons of life demand different kinds of focus. His message was never about achieving a flawless 50–50 split between work and personal life. Instead, he urged people to recognize their own assets, the strengths and relationships already within them, and to invest in what truly matters. Balance, in his view, is not symmetry; it is clarity.
Elder David Bednar of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints teaches a similar principle. He speaks of “things that matter most” — the spiritual, relational and moral anchors that give life meaning. He warns that when we try to give equal weight to everything, we end up giving real attention to nothing. His counsel is gentle but piercing: life becomes chaotic when we confuse the urgent with the important. Balance is not achieved by dividing time evenly, but by aligning time with purpose.
Taken together, these perspectives dismantle the modern obsession with balance as a measurable outcome. They invite us to see balance as a deliberate arrangement, not a perfect distribution. Because in real life, balance is not a scale — it’s a map.
Some days, work will demand more. Deadlines will tighten, responsibilities will expand, and the hours will stretch. For public practitioners, this is especially true during tax season — when filings pile up, clients call nonstop and sleep becomes a luxury, if it happens at all.
Those in commerce and industry feel the pressure during month-end and year-end closing, racing against immovable deadlines to produce financial statements and compliance reports.
Government accountants face intense cycles — budget preparation, Commission on Audit submissions, year-end liquidation, and many others. Accountants in the education sector carry heavy loads during audit season and when preparing reports for the Commission on Higher Education, Department of Education, or board meetings.
In addition, in other days, family will call for deeper presence. Illness, milestones, quiet moments, or simple companionship will take precedence. And there will be days when rest, solitude, or spiritual grounding must come first.
Trying to force these shifting realities into a rigid formula only leads to frustration. But acknowledging that life moves in seasons — each with its own rightful priority — brings peace.
Just as this scripture verse speaks of a time to plant and a time to harvest, a time to build and a time to rest, work-life balance is our modern way of honoring these God-given rhythms. We are not meant to stay in one season forever. When we allow work to consume every hour, we disrupt the boundaries God Himself designed. But when we embrace both productivity and rest, we live more wisely, more humanly and more beautifully — recognizing that everything becomes meaningful “in its time.”
So, my dear colleagues, let us stop chasing a perfect balance that does not exist and start choosing the right priorities that allow us to live with clarity, peace and purpose.
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Myra D. Balde is the managing owner of MDBalde Acctg & Management Consultancy in Plaridel, Bulacan.
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