Tyler Durbin is the lead author and editor here at GenYJourney.com.  Tyler shares his daily experiences as a recent college grad and young professional in order for those following the same path to learn from his mistakes and triumphs.

8:00 a.m. -  9:00 a.m.  Breakfast
9:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.  Errands
10:45 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.  Meeting with local designer
12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.  Lunch with Mom
2:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m   Shopping
5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.  Kentucky Derby
7:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m.  Out to Watch Cleveland Cavalier’s game

Things look a little weird??  Typically, in the Day in the Life series, I share a day of professional development, networking, triumphs and challenges I encounter.  Lately, I’ve been doing a lot of writing about finding balance in your life at other blogs and felt it was time to bring the message and a different perspective to GenYJourney.com

I’ve decided to highlight a recent Saturday and be a little more personal (I need to do a better job of sharing my lessons learned in all aspects of my life).  This requires a little background.  For the last 10 months I’ve been managing a long-distance relationship (2 hour drive) with my girlfriend; we are approaching 2 years together at the end of this month.  We see each other about once every 3 weekends due to our conflicting schedules.  She’s a kindergarten teacher in Cincinnati and is re-locating to Columbus at the end of this school year (If you can help us find her an elementary position here in Columbus PLEASE let me know!)

**Back to Day in the Life**

This Saturday was a “Personal Day” for me.  The GF (as she will now affectionately be referred to as) was in town and since we spend so little time together I really try to take a break from work, blogging and everything else I’m involved in.  We did breakfast and ran some errands (basically pretending like we are living ordinary lives and that it was just a typical Saturday, it makes us feel normal).  The best part of the day was taking the GF with me to a meeting I set up with Allie Lehman, a local freelance designer who I am working with to design personal business cards.  It was neat to bring the GF with me and involve her in a part of my life she has never really seen.  I’m also excited to share with you my new business cards, the process of designing them and the branding philosophy behind them (look for a future post).

After our meeting, we met my mom – who was in town shopping – for lunch.  The Mom and GF are the two people I care most about but spend the least amount of time with so anytime we are all together it’s a great feeling.  I forget all about the other things in life:  The work, the blogging, the networking, the business lunches, the happy hours, everything that is not in that moment.  It’s invigorating and is great for recharging the batteries.

The rest of the day we spent walking around, shopping, chatting, just spending time together and catching up on all we’ve missed over the past few weeks.  Back at the house, the GF and I caught the Kentucky Derby and then loaded up with a buddy from my apartment complex to go down and meet people to watch the Cleveland Cavalier’s playoff game.

The day was filled with family and friends.  The small amount of time that was spent in a meeting had a deeper purpose of sharing a new experience with the GF and having her more involved in an aspect of my life she has never really been a part of.  It’s so important to have balance in your life.  If you don’t find that balance you lose perspective, you get tunnel vision and you lose inspiration.  To you, this seems like an average Saturday but it had special significance for me and my relationships with my mother and GF.  Go find your signifcant moments!

I sincerely hope you understand the significance of finding balance and taking time for yourself in life.