I am waving the white flag on this week. It was a short week for me but a busy one. I’m finding that since I changed my schedule this month to add in the four Y2 Strength trial classes, I’ve had a hard time fitting everything in that I want to get done in a week. The two things that I’ve struggled with most are maintaining a regular and consistent blog schedule and also walking the girls.
I’m not complaining because I 100% love what I do but I’m teaching 13 classes a week at the moment on top of my marketing role at the studio, running this website and being a good dog momma and partner. 13 classes a week basically equates to a 20 hour part-time job once you factor in all the prep for classes with programming and playlists and then the cleaning after. And I know that adding four classes might not sound like a huge deal but it’s completely changed the dynamic of my schedule and the times that were dedicated to things like long interrupted hours of computer work and dog walking.
It can be tough to maintain any semblance of balance when you’re juggling what feels like a lot (I know many/most of you can totally relate). One thing that helps me keep my cool is reminding myself that for the most part, the things I’m putting on my plate are a choice. As are the things I take off of my plate. Here are some of the ways that I’m trying to balance out this recent schedule change/slight overwhelm.
- I have completely phased out personal training. I was still training two clients who are so dear to me on Friday mornings but my heart was telling me it was time to let it go. Our recent move has us a solid 20 minutes away from the gym with no traffic and the time spent doing it in relation to the income earned wasn’t worth it. My Friday schedule was train 6:30-7:15, workout 7:15-8:15, train 8:15-9:15, rush to the studio and teach 9:30-10:45. Not having to be anywhere until 9:30 on Fridays feels like a huge luxury and breath of fresh air. I can either get a little extra sleep or knock out a blog post before heading to teach.
- I hired someone to clean for us. With three dogs and two humans, it’s hard to keep our house tidy and clean. I feel like I have a pretty good handle on the daily vacuuming, dishes, laundry (sometimes) and general pick up but when it comes to the deep cleaning kind of stuff I just don’t have the time to do it. I’m happy to trade the money it costs to have someone deep clean every couple of weeks for the ability to either a) spend more time working and earning money or b) to have my weekends free to do fun/relaxing activities with Tanner and the girls.
- I’m sleeping more. Y’all…I just decided that I was over sleep deprivation. No matter how busy I feel like things are, I’m really focusing on trying to get at least 8 hours of sleep. It’s been a refreshing change of pace. I’m only getting up in the 5 o’clock hour twice a week these days and it’s ah-mazing.
- I’m working out more. I’ve mentioned this before but somewhere in the midst of our move, I lost my workout juju. Although adding the Y2 Strength classes has been a change to my schedule for the busier, I am doing the classes with them and it feels SO GOOD to be lifting consistently again and I’ve seen noticeable results in under three weeks. I’ve also been practicing yoga almost daily and it’s been a great compliment to the lifting.
- I am efforting to give my marketing coordinator more autonomy and to let go of control more than is usually comfortable for me. Bringing on a full-time marketing coordinator has been a GODSEND as the studio continues to grow and thrive. That said, I have such a clear vision for the brand and how I want things to look and feel. It can be tough for me to delegate things to others and not to nitpick about how I want things. I have really worked the last couple of months to give our marketing coordinator more ownership over her day-to-day workload and it’s been a huge load off of my shoulders.
- I have given myself a pass on blogging when it doesn’t fit into my schedule. I hope you guys know me well enough by now to know that rushed/hurried/short blog posts are not my MO. Rather than resort to that, I’m giving myself grace to just not blog…even if that’s for 2-3 days in a row. Don’t worry, I’m not planning on becoming sporadic about my posting but for this short season of life, this is working for me.
This morning I woke up with Tanner at 5 when he was getting up to go teach the 6 a.m. I laid there thinking of all the things I could get done before I taught if I got up…but decided my commitment to sleep was more important. My throat is feeling a little scratchy and I knew I needed the rest. I slept until 7:30, fed the girls, ate breakfast and made a playlist for my 9:30. After class, I took the girls for the first walk we’ve made it on this week. Yes, there were about a million other things I could have been working on but in the moment…spending time with them was the most important thing. And clearly they were thankful for it! Look at these post-walk tongues! 🙂
Well, this was supposed to be a recent eats post with a short intro about my current work/life stuff but it’s turned into quite a post of its own. All the recent eats photos are edited and ready to go so I’ll try to get them up Saturday or Sunday to give you a little inspiration for your meal planning for next week.
I would love to hear some graces you give yourself when life is feeling extra busy.
yes to hiring someone to clean! it really makes such a difference and there’s nothing like coming home to the smell and sight of a totally cleaned home. I feel like a cleaning person who isn’t me just does such a better (deep cleaning) job.
Oh my god, YES to hiring cleaners. Even though it’s just the two of us (no pets), the cleaning company I hire once every few months does an AMAZING job at deep cleaning. So worth the money and sanity.
SLEEP. It’s the one thing I seem to cut out first when life gets busy and it’s the one thing I know would help the most. I have major FOMO and saying no is HARD. But sometimes letting go is the best! Hope you’re finding the rest you need 🙂 Love your posts whenever you post them!
This is so good to read to know I’m not alone. I recently added two new jobs (teach yoga & blog) in addition to my full-time job (reading specialist) and it has been intense. Cleaning help is biggest help, along with keeping my mornings relatively free (5:30am-7am) to ease into these busy days. Good job listening to you body 🙂 You’re a champ!
I’ve been giving myself tons of grace with blogging this season of my life. I am glad you feel the same way about less, more quality posts vs posting just to get something up.
It’s a whole different ballpark when you have “multiple” jobs. Marketing, teaching, social media, and everything that goes along with it, which is a lot, has it’s own set of challenges. I remember when I left my 9 to 5 and went into the field with a home office. At first I thought, wow, I have so much freedom. Not so much. While I loved what I did, the flexibility and all that, it was tough to make a dentist appointment as I was moving in so many different directions. Prioritizing you is the most important thing you can do to continue to excel in all that you do. Sleep…yes! And saying no to things that just don’t work for you. And at the end of the day, realizing what’s most important. Kudos to you for doing just that!
Giving myself permission to just do “nothing” for a few minutes or an hour is a big one. I’m often just go-go-go and that wears on my mentally and physically pretty quickly. Yes, I have things I could be doing….but sometimes you just need time to let your brain chill, mindlessly watch netflix or eat a night snack!
I am a mom to a toddler and work full time outside the house with an hour + commute (round trip) each day. Having a baby has changed my level of protection I previously had for myself! Some things are: sleep when I can and take advantage of it, let dishes pile up a day or two, wearing clothes more than once and skipping some laundry, and buying frozen veggies. I also hire people to do more things like yard work.
Oh I feel for you! I also work full time and, until recently, had a 40 minute (one way) commute with my baby girl. It was ROUGH. Hang in there!
Love this post, thank for sharing! I’m a student and currently in the midst of exams, I was not prioritising sleep for a few weeks and it definitely had a negative impact on my quality of work that no amount of coffee could fix! So I’m focusing on getting 8 hours, and I’m working on is being kinder on myself about always having all my lunch/snacks/coffee/dinner prepped and packed, if I need to buy or eat/drink out occasionally its ok, and totally worth the money during this period
I’ve been experiencing a pretty challenging “season” in my life [for all those that have shared – it has been helpful knowing I’m not alone – thank you].
One of the things my counsellor suggested to me – that others may glean something from that fits with this post are watching Kristen Neff’s TED talks on self compassion.
Thanks for the recommendation! I’ll check that out.
Totally needed this now! I work full time (although 2 days from home which is amazing!), have a nine month old son, I try to eat clean, work out, and keep the house tidy! Thank god for my husband, but it can be overwhelming and exhausting especially since I’m trying to learn blogging! But I think you’re totally right about giving yourself a break, I hope I can follow my own advice and give myself a break every once in awhile!
I loved this post! I’ve always wondered how you functioned on so little sleep. 🙂 I need 7.5 to 8 to feel human.
I think your audience is completely understanding of your busy schedule. I love reading your posts, but realize that you sometimes can’t post as often as you’d like during busy times in your life. Don’t forget to give yourself some grace.
And thank you for the 33-minute dumbbell workout from last week. I loved it!
I struggle with this all the time. I’m usually ALWAYS doing something. Sometimes I burn out and then I just rest a LOT.
SAME!