Carolina Bula is a Systems Engineer and works as a Senior Analyst and Technical Leader at Perceptiva since 2023. She has a solid background in software development and leads technical projects with a focus on innovation and quality. As a means of maintaining “work-life balance”, Caro practices Strong Nation in her free time.
What exactly is work-life balance in your opinion?
We all know we need it, but finding harmony between professional and personal life is hard. It has to do with the concept of well-being, which involves all of the things outside of work that makes life worthwhile. This includes family, hobbies, relationships, as well as basic needs such as sleep, exercise, and balanced meals. I guess the pandemic increased the importance of work-life balance for most people around the world, and organizations need to be tuned to it. The concept is key to maintaining productivity and passion in the workplace.
Do you have a favorite activity outside of work?
Work plays a significant part in all our lives, and we are growing increasingly more connected through technology and social media. But I practice Strong Nation and consider it very important to my well-being. Strong Nation is a high-intensity, total-body workout that combines bodyweight, muscle conditioning, cardio, and plyometric moves, all synced to music. Physical activities in general offer great benefits: 1.reducing health problems and absences, 2.improving focus and concentration, 3. generating engagement with teams, and others.
How does Strong Nation relate to your work as Technical Lead?
At the gym, discipline and patience are key. You have to be consistent to see results, understand that not everything is immediate, and that learning is part of the journey. Every training session involves planning: you set goals, track your progress, and make adjustments. I also notice that the coordination needed in the gym is very similar to what we need as a team to build a tech solution: everyone doing their part at the right time, with focus and precision. Another key aspect is adaptability – in tech we need to be agile and adapt to new tools, languages, or ways of working.
Could you share with us some practical ways to achieve work-life balance?
If team members do not view work as a chore, then they will work harder (“go the extra mile”), make fewer mistakes, and be less likely to leave their jobs. As a leader, it’s my responsibility to help your team juggle the demands of their work and personal lives. It’s actually more than just splitting hours between work and leisure, and it involves incorporating practices that mentally and physically signal transitions between different parts of our day. There’s of course days when work might demand more, and the Einsenhower Matrix is useful to make informed decisions.
At Perceptiva we believe a healthy work-life balance allows everyone to excel at work while leading a fulfilling personal life. At the end of the day, professional and personal growth is highly associated.
