Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1541840
34 DESIGN007 MAGAZINE I DECEMBER 2025 responsibility, and that bleeds into what little per- sonal time I have. The other reason this is a chal- lenge is that I love what I do. I'm perpetually thank- ful that I get to work in this industry. Post-academia, when I first started working in industry, I never took time off. I felt like I was constantly in an emergency, which was largely because all my work was essentially gig work. I was working until 4 a.m. every day and never took time off. For a long time, my self-imposed work schedule created a lot of friction in my personal relationship, especially with my wife. Now that I have one child and another on the way, the pendulum has swung more toward "life," and family responsibilities have taken prior- ity on certain days and times. This has meant I've needed to set aside very specific time blocks for family when my wife and I are not working. That sounds like it was quite a strain. As a busi- ness owner, how do you determine your work schedule now? Technically, I make my own hours and work loca- tion. Family commitments keep me at home part of the week, and work commitments keep me in the office/lab the rest of the week. I can take time away for my family commitments or personal errands, but outside of that, any time might turn into work time. There are not a lot of opportunities to tune out completely because of the number and diversity of projects we work on. Career counselors recommend setting bound- aries, such as the specific hours you work. Have you set any such boundaries for yourself? This is tough when you run your own show, but there are some boundaries that are set in stone. There are certain times when I won't take phone calls, Slack messages, or emails; a response will have to wait until later. Family time on the week- end creates another boundary where I can't com- promise; even if there is a major issue with a proj- ect at the end of the week, I rarely take time off from family to deal with it on weekend days. Some PCB designers take breaks to exercise, do yoga, or mindfulness exercises throughout the day. How do you take breaks? I try to take regular breaks, but running a design team and dealing with clients always makes me feel like I'm putting out fires everywhere. During the day, I try to get a break by switching up what I'm doing for work, essentially forcing myself to inject some variety. There are always some work tasks that do not necessarily feel like work tasks; they offer a break from some of the less desirable tasks. The best thing for me has been regular exer- cise. I lift weights and run religiously; it's a stress reliever and a dopamine fix. I've stuck with it for a long time, and many nights I'll be up until mid- night running on the treadmill or lifting weights in the garage. It's good for mental health and self- esteem. Do you have any tips for anyone struggling to achieve a great work-life balance? Things outside of work, like your health and fam- ily, are like an investment. You have to put time and effort into these things if you want them to cre- ate some benefit in your life. If you're focused on the financial aspects of your work, thinking about these other things in those terms will help you rationalize allocating time to these things. At one point, I realized that the entire reason we work is to be able to enjoy some level of leisure outside of work; this led me to focus on things I wanted to do outside of work and ultimately plan for those activities. DESIGN007 " " Now that I have one child and another on the way, the pendulum has swung more toward "life," and family responsibilities have taken priority on certain days and times.