Work-life balance is a goal we all strive to achieve. When your work seeps into your personal life, it can cause stress and burnout. But what if your career makes it impossible to make that separation?

When you’re a lifestyle writer, you often have the most success when you write about your own life and experiences. While this may challenge the ideal work-life balance, that’s not always a bad thing. Here are the benefits of having a connected work and personal life as a writer. 

Why Do People Need Work-Life Balance?

Work-life balance entails a proper divide between your professional life and your personal life. You have set hours when you’re in “work mode” and complete your tasks. You’re able to shut off your computer for the day without worrying about work until tomorrow.

Many people have careers that don’t let them have this luxury. You may need to be on-call for emergencies or bring work home with you if it’s time-sensitive. Being a freelance writer may not be the first job that comes to mind here, but many people who pursue it are surprised to learn how much work-life overlap it entails.

How do you take a break when work is so integral to your livelihood? As a lifestyle writer, you probably enjoy aspects of your work. You have plenty of freedom to write about things people care about and connect with your audience over shared experiences.

Lifestyle writing can take many forms. Some lifestyle writers might run personal blogs where they document their lives and share personal stories. Others may write for magazines where they cover trending topics in their area of interest. You may also write reviews, personal essays or opinion pieces.

Personal experience is key in making any of these types of pieces valuable–whether it be your findings after testing a product or your insight as someone who has gone through a relatable life event. While sharing your life and opinions can put you in a vulnerable position and blur the line between work and personal life, that’s what makes lifestyle writing so compelling.

3 Benefits of the Mutual Work-Life Relationship of a Writer

When you’re a writer, your work follows you everywhere. Maybe it isn’t always looming over you, stressing you out with the threat of a deadline. Sometimes, it sits quietly in the corner, waiting for you to notice it. Your writer’s work-life balance may look like you acknowledging your writing when you’re ready and on your own time. Here are some of the benefits you can reap by keeping your two lives together.

1. You Can Connect With Others

Lifestyle writers have the opportunity to share their experiences with others who are going through the same situations. When people struggle with their health, their jobs or their family lives, they often feel alone and ashamed. Studies show that loneliness can have consequences for your physical health, so opening conversations about difficult situations can help people feel less alone.

This is why mom blogs are often so successful. They create a space for moms to share advice and acknowledge their shared challenges. Whether you write in detail about your personal life or use your experiences to share more general advice, you can help others get through tough times.

2. You Find Inspiration in Anything

Writers, like other artists, have the amazing ability to look around and find inspiration. Whether you people-watch or analyze every interaction you have with others, you’ll find a story or lesson in something every day. Pay attention to the world around you. You never know when you might find something you can use to teach or entertain your readers.

Travel writers, for example, capitalize on a unique combination of work and personal life. Traveling for pleasure has many benefits, including relieving stress, boosting your creativity and cognitive functions, and exposing you to new experiences. While most people go on vacation to get away from work, travel writers can use any trip they take as new material while reaping the mental health benefits.  

3. You Can Implement New Tips

The average YouTube user spends almost 24 hours a month watching videos, often to learn something new. Every writer has to research something. As educated or experienced as you might be, you haven’t lived through every situation in the world. You’ll have to learn new things when you’re writing, things that can transfer into your personal life.

Instead of your life directly influencing your writing, this benefit reverses them. You can take messages away from your writing, such as a cleaning tip you learned through research, and apply it to your life. You might pick up a new active hobby because you wrote about the benefits, or quit a bad habit after learning about the risks. You never know how your work can affect your life until you let it.

Embrace Work-Life Balance Without the Separation

You don’t have to remove yourself entirely from work when you’re a writer. While you don’t want to be in “work mode” all the time, you can still benefit from keeping your eyes and ears open for inspiration to use in your writing. Learn to let the ideas come to you and write them when you’re ready.

Author bio: Cora Gold is a freelance writer and editor of women’s lifestyle magazine, Revivalist. As a freelancer, Cora writes about wellness and balancing work with family. Connect with Cora on LinkedIn and Twitter.