Running your own business can be one of the most satisfying things you can do. So can having a boyfriend and while we're at it, spending time on yourself. So why is it things just seem to complete for my time rather than neatly work round each other?

One would think that because I was the one organising my life, I'd be able to balance the odd lie-in with a late night or weekend. Or going for a sauna, or having a massage, or just chilling out - since I don-t actually have to be at a desk between the hours of 9 and 5.

Only life never runs as smoothly as that. I don't know about you, but I'm fated to have a little devil called guilt perpetually sat on one shoulder, reminding me to work harder, play harder, put more effort into things. Some might call this determination. I prefer to call it an affliction.

There is a fine line between what I see as work - and what I'd actually spend my time doing even if I weren't getting paid. I love spending time making clothes, drawing up a pattern, refining the fit; or on the macro level - planning the feel or overall composition. But then there are a million other things that running a label means - organising production, visiting factories, keeping up to date with paperwork, I could carry on ...

The thing is I also love spending time with my boyfriend, going out with friends, watching movies, cycling, swimming, cooking, visiting galleries and writing. And so the time I get to spend on me gets more and more squeezed. Maybe its not that I'm not particularly good at the balancing act - it's just that there simply aren't enough hours in the day to do all things things I'd like to do.