At no point since starting Life's Better In Yoga Pants in 2012 have I not had a full-time job. I've always had a 9-5 (let's get real, more like 8:30-6), but also took advantage of the 5-9s that bookended that.
I was 22 when I started this blog - I'm now 35 - which means I've lived plenty of different lives until this point and what worked then for 'balance' doesn't necessarily work now.
For example, there's a chapter in my still unpublished book called "How To Train For A Marathon...While Getting Drunk and Blowing Coke." Can confirm, that doesn't depict life now.
I started working in NYC when I was 22 and moved here when I was 24, so I spent my early and mid-20s doing quintessential NYC things but had the stamina to match. Work out, work a full day, dinner, party, bed at 2 AM, and repeat.
As life shifted and pivoted, so has how I balance work, training, side hustles, and my social life. For starters, I am generally only fun between the hours of 4:30 AM and 9:15 PM, though on occasion, I stay up a little later. That doesn't mean I don't have a fun, fulfilling life though!
I get my run/training/workout done first thing in the morning and either get ready at home or at my office which fortunately has showers. Then, it's the PR/digital marketing grind until around 6 or 6:30 PM. Afterwards, I may just go home and cook dinner, or go to dinner/happy hour with friends, or an industry event, or teach Pilates. But I'm almost always in bed on time.
My schedule rarely changes Monday-Friday morning (long run Fridays!) and I can be a little type A protecting my time during the week, but I do like less structure once that long run is done!
While age and personal growth may play a role in how we structure our time and lives during our different eras, adhering to it doesn't happen overnight.
Here are 5 things that helped me evolve my work-life-running balance throughout the years:
1. Understand that as you get older, you may need more sleep. The 4-5 hours I got in my 20s doesn't fly in my mid-30s. I aim to be in bed for at least 6.5-7 hours per night to get quality rest and downtime.
2. Focus on goals or activities that are important to you. Growing both of my businesses and improving my running are things that pushed me to find a regimen that allowed me to focus on those while leaving me with wiggle room for life.
3. Discipline is different from motivation and inspiration. I'm often told it's inspiring that I run at 5 AM or that "Oh, I could never do that" or anything you can think of similar to those statements. I'm not motivated or inspired, I'm disciplined. The workout or run has to get done, and that's the best time for me to do it - so whether I like it or not, I'm up and out.
4. Everyday will not be perfect. A few weeks ago I decided at 3 PM that I was going to see Noah Kahan at the Garden at 8 PM the same night. It was a Tuesday so I only had a strength workout the next day so guess what? I just woke up later and did it then versus panicking or not doing it at all. Don't let perfection or being too type A get in the way of having fun - the training, work, or whatever will be there tomorrow (we have a saying in PR that it's PR not the ER but if you work in the ER perhaps this statement doesn't apply to you).
5. Level up who you hang out with. Surround yourself with people who are better than you in different aspects of life. Connecting with friends, colleagues, and mentors who force me to do better has been such a game-changer. It's transformed how I run my businesses, my approach to training, how I allocate my time and to who, and so much more.
What changes will you make today, for a better tomorrow?
XO, Lynette
Comments