Recently read an incredible piece on balancing work and life. We all know about it, and we all realize balance is necessary for a happy life. But I don’t think anyone really understands what that means. How much leisure do you need compared to work hours, and what defines work? What defines leisure?

Work is effort poured into tasks. We can be pleased with work when we feel we are functioning well in the role, realizing our potential. We love feeling satisfied and proud of completing a difficult task.

Happiness, often associated with leisure, is a matter of finding a positive place, void of sadness and anger. We are healthier when we are happy, and we see leisure as an avenue to that happiness.

However, too much of one is not good. We crave being productive, making too much leisure a bad thing. But we crave being happy, which we interpret as taking time off from work, and we see too much work as a physical detriment.

Some people adjust by choosing leisure activities that require a lot of mental and physical investment (i.e., tasks), like mountain hiking, intense cross-fitness, or even writing books. In other words, their leisure has to expend serious effort to be worthy.

Too many of us envision our writing future as relaxing and enjoying the muse. The non-writer often stereotypes writers and authors as kicked back at a computer, pouring out words that are creative, easy, and loads of fun in a playful, world-building time of joy.

Trying to force-feed what we think a writer ought to be into a stereotypical mold could do the opposite of the intention . . . and lose the happiness of writing. The challenge is necessary to find the happiness, because quality writing takes serious investment of self, digging far deeper than “having fun.”

Finding how you love to write is almost as important as what you love to write, because without one you jeopardize the other. It has to be work to be the most fun.