"Not tonight dear, I'm on deadline"

The title to this blog is one of the best things I've ever seen on a t-shirt related to my profession.

Journalism, like so many other careers, demands a lot of your time. When it comes to building relationships, it also demands a lot of patience and understanding from the person you are dating.

For instance, there have been times when I thought my work schedule was all set for the day only for news to break at like 5:55 p.m. That meant if I had plans to meet someone after work, either a delay or a reschedule was necessary. Sometimes the date was understanding, sometimes they decided to look elsewhere because my schedule did not match theirs.

I have friends who work in other project-oriented and deadline-oriented professions such as architecture and accounting who echo the same sentiments. They have days where they work late into the night and people who they are dating aren't quite understanding.

Now, I know it's usually easier if you date someone with similar demands from their job or profession, but you can't always help it if you are attracted to someone with a set work schedule.

For those with successful relationships and demanding professions, how were you able to balance the two? How do you get your partner to understand the demands of your profession?