It is very fashionable to talk about how concerned we all are about getting our work/life balance right. So, we thought we would think about how this applied to ourselves.
The truth is that there are things we want to do – like spending more time on our various art efforts,
travelling, and spending more time with family members – that point to us doing a little less paid work.
Sandy started this off and took some practical steps to reduce her paid work commitments last year. She is continuing her commission as independent planning inspector in Bermuda. However, she is no longer doing planning case work for the Planning and Development Department in Barbados. That change should have freed up a lot of time. But as soon as she retired from that consultancy role, the Government appointed her as a member of the Planning and Development Board which involves preparing for and attending its regular meetings. As part of her Board responsibilities, she has also taken on chairing the Environmental Impact Assessment Committee. So, altogether, her changes have not generated any extra spare time.
Meanwhile, Kim has stopped doing any regular work for UK housing association clients (although he would take on an interesting one-off assignment if it came along). He now has a half-time contract doing planning work for the Barbados Government – writing reports to the Planning & Development Board or to the Minister on significant planning applications and dealing with appeals cases. This is generally enough to keep him busy.