Work/dive/life balance

[ACR]

Am I the only one here who has trouble finding time to dive? With work and family (we're a single diver family) it's tough to get away for the day that it takes to get to a site..

Who's figured out the optimum work/dive/life balance and how can the rest of us achieve this zen like state?

 

[Gombessa]

A regular schedule seems to help a lot. Make it a "one weekend a month thing." That way, you can rely on everyone knowing and planning around your dive weekend, and there are no/few unwanted surprises.

 

[Siilverback]

I only get every other weekend off. I try to be out on a beach dive as close to dawn as possible so I can get home and still spend time with my family, who do not share my enthusiasm for diving. You are not alone

 

[Oyster Diver]

I live 3 hours from the ocean and am in the same situation as you. I try to include everyone by inviting them along (my wife usually declines) and if i'm going to be gone more than one night I leave presents hidden around the house. That way my wife and kids know I was thinking of them. I can't wait for my kids to be old enough to dive so I can say "I really dont want to go, but Caisse and Jack do so..."

Good luck. It is tough to balance everything.

 

[ACR]

I can't wait for my kids to be old enough to dive...

Can't agree with that more... but with mine just turning 1, it'll be a while yet!

 

[almitywife]

for the past 5 years my hubby has had a full time job plus doing a uni degree plus teaching scuba 3 weekends out of every 4

now uni is finished and he has scaled back his work hours so he has a long weekend every 2 weeks and he trying to scale back his teaching also

plus 6 months ago he bought a rebreather and yesterday his new housing was delivered for his new camera...... more time for diving he says

me - i can dive every weekend down here but also looking for a new job to scale back my hours so i can have more free time

 

[GrumpyOldGuy]

I let diving get away from me once, not going to repeat same mistake. I got my boys diving, so its a family activity. I also have been lucky in that I travel for business often and others on ScubaBoard have either given me good local advice or outright invited me on dives. This makes business travel so much more fun (don't tell my wife).

In season, I also dive early morning to avoid the crowds and to be back by noonish. It allow me to do other things at home, only ruins my late night social like.

 

[rhadamantus]

still single, so i guess the "kids and family" consideration aint happening to me yet!

however, there was a time i was working full time, i was doing business graduate studies, and charity works and out-of-town pleasure trips (for about three years). how i did it was dump everything not pleasure- or holiday- related in the work week so i get my weekends always free for my own disposal. and that's how i always ended up at the beach on weekends.

 

[Guba]

Why do you think I had to wait to be certified at the tender age of 43? Nope, it wasn't for lack of interest (hey, I grew up watching Sea Hunt every afternoon)...it was because it took that long for my kids to go off to college! Well, mostly...when I certified we still had one in high school, but the time (and money) demands were starting to taper off a bit.

And now, here come all these grandkids! That's all right. My granddaughter, 2 1/2 years old, will scramble along on the floor and say, "Look! I'm fwimmin'--like Poppy!" She's seen my underwater videos (and no, I don't crawl along on the bottom, either...it's the best imitation she can do on dry land thank-you-very-much!).

Best wishes in managing to balance family and diving. While I can certainly appreciate a person's love for diving, it still doesn't compare with the importance of good family time. Hopefully, you won't have to make it an "either/or" decision.

 

[Buoyant1]

Thankfully, my local quarry has Wednesday Night Diving during the summer! I can sneak a few weekends in here and there, but the Wednesday nights to me are like some people's "bowling" night!

PLUS that's opened up a whole new set of people to dive with, that my network is pretty extensive, so I can usually find someone to get wet with on the weekends!