I'm sure that balance means something different to everyone, generally speaking though we're all striving for a good work/life balance. It seems to be on a sliding scale or all together elusive and it seems to be a particularly tricky one for artists. 
There's a quote that's been going around for a while that says, "If you do what you love, you'll never work a day in your life..." Well that just isn't true now is it?! I am privileged to be able to make pretty things but the actually running of my business is most definitely work and quite hard work at that.

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When I'm not at work (my other work) I spend a lot of time doing business-y things that are essential but not fun! There are a lot of early mornings before work and late nights after work, working weekends (that's when most craft markets are) and don't even get me started on Christmas! If you're lucky you have supportive friends & family that will help you package what feels like a million studs when it all gets a bit too much. Everything remotely social needs to  be scheduled as far in advance as possible, does it clash with a market? Do I have a deadline? Will I be lying down in a dark room to decompress? You have to make time for yourself, for your relationships, for your family - you know the only things that are more important than your artistic endeavours. I deem a week successful if I have done most of the things on my never ending to do list, I've not had too stressful a time at work, , had enough sleep and spent some quality time with my family! This doesn't always happen and it can lead to guilt, stress and a less productive following week! It's easy to become a victim of your own success (whatever that looks like for you) and you have to stay busy to stay busy but I've been really trying to set limits and having dedicated studio space has really helped me set work hours and get in and out of the zone. Yes it's fantastic getting to work for yourself, do what you love and make some money whilst you're at it but you have to try and put the same focus and effort into the rest of your life. I'm not practicing what I'm preaching just yet but I'm trying to stay mindful of the balance.

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I feel that there's also a constant balancing act between your 'bread & butter' and your new ideas, those that may not be lucrative and can take up a lot of time. It's super important for your development as an artist and the future of your business but it's difficult to find the time when you've got orders to get out or a market to prep for. So once in a while you're lucky enough to have scheduled in some experimentation time and then you find yourself with a great big creative blog - it's not a nice place to find yourself, thinking that you've lost your mojo and wasted time and money. There's the balancing of your time & resources - do you spend money on new materials and ideas or book in a market for 3 months down the line and make stock for that? Do you pay for some promotion  and put time into updating your platforms or some new tools that'd streamline your making? Do you invest in better display & packaging materials or buy some food? Tough right!