Find YOUR Balance

Can you relate to this picture?

Have you burned yourself out before?

I sure have!

... A few times in my career actually.

...It's not fun

And it's NOT healthy.

It's taken me two decades to come to learn what MY balance actually is. Balance is a relative term in my opinion. It's NOT the same for everyone. But it's there. It takes time, patience and persistence to discover it. When you do, your mental and physical health will begin to change in positive ways, without question.

Part of my balance I've learned is NOT being ON all the time. With that said, I can also include TAKING TIME OFF as part of that equation. The important of vacation time. It's not easy as an entrepreneur. When you don't work, you don't get paid. However, taking time to recharge not only helps you stay passionate about your work, but also IMPROVES your work efficiency and productivity.

I've been through burnout. It's awful. It's not fun. I'd like to say it was a thing of the past but honestly looking back, I think my mental state and frustrations pre-pandemic days were a sign I needed to make some adjustments. Without that, my health would continue to take a back seat.

The pandemic taught us many things and forced many businesses to adapt. That goes for me for sure. I came out of the "old school" mindset of coaching and have embraced a more hybrid style of day. And IT has created some balance for me.

I'm only a few weeks back to work since lockdown #3 here in Ontario, but I feel better each week! Here's a few things I've implemented that have really helped me mentally and physically:

- My mornings begin with gentle movement, stretches and a 1-minute meditation. It's not yoga, it's just gentle movement before anything else happens in my day.

-Each day is either weights and a walk OR a run day. Regardless, some exercise is fit into each day.

- Work is scheduled in spurts. Gone are the days of 6+ appointments back to back with next to no time in between. Most days are 3-4 appointements consecutively (with 15min or so between sessions) before a nice break.

- My breaks allow me to NOT work, exercise and/or work on my distance coaching.

- I have a nice mixture of work and play/rest in each day. Some days end up being a little more work. Some days end up being a little more play. I can adapt each day to how I feel now simply because I have not OVERLOADED my days.

-I've learned to set limits. To feel better inside and out, I needed to have limits. No one can do everything or help everyone. I have a particular number of clients I can comfortably work with to the best of my abilities. Beyond that, I need to either offer other options that I have available, or refer out.

It took 20-years to find my balance, and although it's still a work in progress, it's feeling really good.

When you find YOUR balance you just know...

You feel it from inside.

Your energy and excitement in your work is present more often than not.

You have energy and time to put into your own health.

You make time for YOU, away from work.