Living with Intention with Janice Lee Fang

Janice Lee Fang is a very busy woman. She is mum to two curious, energetic girls, and also a communications professional with an enviable count of travel mileage. As a working parent, Janice Lee Fang understands what it takes to be present for both her family and her career.  

Surprisingly, Janice doesn’t believe in the idea of a work-life balance. Instead, she leans into finding balance within herself to help her navigate through life.  

You work as a communications professional for a travel company. Is travelling a big part of your life? How often do you travel?

Travelling is a huge part of my life — I do it for work, of course, and am blessed to have seen and learnt a lot about other parts of the world through the world of hospitality. Travelling is also about finding what’s within myself… whether I’m trying to find the courage to come down a mountain on my bike or quiet my mind and heart on a retreat.

For someone whose job requires constant communication, travelling is the only time I’m allowed to go off the grid and just speak with myself. This personal time is very important to me. And then of course there’s travelling with family, which is all about making precious memories.

Janice hanging out with her dog in the living room.

As a working mum, you must be really busy! What’s your take on work-life balance?

I’m not sure if there is such a thing as work life balance. The reality is if you want to succeed in anything, you have to work super hard at it and that applies to both work in the office as well as life at home. I work extremely hard at work, but also at marriage and motherhood; the truth is, I’m always exhausted.

The balance I’ve had to find has been within myself. I’ve had to make tougher calls on how I spend my time and form habits to help myself with productivity — including learning how to breathe better, being more deliberate and mindful with my sleep, limiting social media usage, meditation, and etc. It sounds like a lot more work, which it is, but it helps me tackle the other parts of life more efficiently and that’s really been the key to my idea of ‘balance’.

Self-care means different things to different people. What’s your definition of self-care? Can you also share with us your self-care routine?

Self-care to me is all about the mind and body. Whenever I have the luxury to do something for myself, it is usually related to physical activity. I’d either be planning a mountain bike ride or spending time on a yoga mat. The past eight years with my kids have taught me self-care should also include catching up on sleep… which I don’t do enough of and am trying very hard at!

Complete the sentence “My bed is __”

A sacred place. My little girls sometimes bring me breakfast in bed 😊.

Pillow Talk is an interview series done in collaboration with Public Culture, an editorial experience studio that believes in connection over communication.