Finding Balance

What is it about the work/play struggle that seems to get us tangled up? It seems like I get on a roll where I have a good work/play balance and everything is right with the world. At other times, one side of the pendulum is weighed heavily (my play refers to all my hobbies and free time expressions). For example, I can get absorbed in work for a couple weeks at a time and somehow lose a bit of focus on the passions that are so important to me. I don't ever lose sight of the passions completely, it's just that sometimes I devote a lot of time and other times, it's average.

So, this leads me to my question. How do we find this delicate balance? At what point do we realize our sweet spot with these things? As humans, we are prone to error and mistakes happen. We learn from them and move on. It seems like balance is one of those things that seems to constantly challenge us though. I am happy with my life, don't get me wrong. I am extremely grateful for what I have and what I've been given. It's the fine tuning aspect of life that I'm after. I like to fine tune all things in my life and this is just another facet.

Learning: I'm beginning to understand some things about myself and ways to keep myself in check. If I write myself daily notes to remind myself what to do and how to allocate my time, it helps. I don't like daily planners (to each their own, if they work for you, great!) because I can't seem to force myself to write everything down. I like to keep some of it in my head, otherwise I drive myself crazy trying to accomplish absolutely everything that I write down. That's not good either. Perfection is the enemy of good. Although I always strive for very lofty goals, knowing that good is enough helps me.

What works for you? How do you find balance?