Disengage between your work life and your home life; protect each from the other.
Let me introduce you to this month’s featured tribal elders, a couple of happy city dwelling retirees with enough experience between them to give wise advice in both the manufacturing and education sectors.
Lyn and Neil Laurenson have both had quite different challenging professional careers and remarkable life experiences in very different fields of work. Neil had a distinguished career in the education sector here in New Zealand and overseas. He was a teacher, manager and leader for 25 years in the field of Catholic education, playing a significant and influential role through a challenging period of philosophical, cultural and political change. For most of her working life Lyn was an executive assistant to a variety of general managers and managing directors in various industries, and witnessed many changes particularly in the demanding and innovative sphere of local carpet manufacturing in New Zealand.
Sipping coffee and nibbling home-made biscuits with Neil and Lyn on their sun-drenched balcony overlooking the city, it is clear that this couple are a world away from that hectic professional stage of their lives. I was interested to know how they had managed work/life balance throughout their busy careers and I wondered if they had some ‘life hack’ wisdom to share with the younger generation of salaried and freelance workers.
Both Lyn and Neil agree that keeping work and home life separate has been a very important strategy. Both had to commute to work and Neil recalled how he specifically used that time to create a distinct bubble of free space for letting go, for transitioning. He enjoyed listening to music on the radio or on CDs and audio books as well. Lyn remembers a similar strategy of leaving all the workplace hassles, set-backs and dramas at work. She never talked about office or industry matters at home, except for sharing occasional humorous anecdotes. It was a rule of thumb that worked for this couple, to protect their private life together.
In today’s post pandemic world of remote working from home offices, their wise advice is more relevant than ever. We should try to maintain clear boundaries between work activity and home/family life; find a way to disengage between work time and personal time. In today’s world, that may require a different strategy of separation, but the principle is still important. Work is only one domain of our lives and our family, our home, is more important anyway.
Nowadays, Lyn and Neil make the most of everything on offer in the city; the range of entertainment and educational options, the happenings in Aotea Square, events on the waterfront and most of all, the superb range of restaurants and casual eateries available across the city, Ponsonby and Grey Lynn.
They have grown to appreciate living in the mixed-use environment that is Auckland city, and they value the diversity of neighbours that come with the territory. They enjoy greeting and chatting with all their fellow apartment dwellers and local shop keepers alike. Although there are no opportunities for a chinwag over the garden fence, there is still a real community in and around our inner-city buildings.
Currently, Neil is vice president of the Probus Club of Ponsonby and Lyn is editor of the monthly news bulletin. They extend a warm welcome to anyone interested in joining this group of active retirees and ‘tribal elders’ who gather monthly to hear interesting speakers, socialise and go on some fun outings from time to time. (Alexa Lawrence)
If you think you would enjoy getting together with other like-minded retirees for new experiences and friendships, contact Rosie Armstrong on T: 09 486 5181, or E: rosiearm@xtra.co.nz
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