Ask Coach Nicole – How Do I Stay Balanced?

Each month I answer a question from a client or someone who fills out my Ask Coach Nicole form. This week’s question is about balance.

Patti asks: I am wondering how do you balance work, your own training, and traveling routines?

Most of us lead busy lives, and hobbies such as cycling or triathlon are time consuming. We can feel overwhelmed with responsibilities and sometimes feel like we are struggling to find the time to do the things we want. Traveling can throw a stick in the spokes of routine as well.

For me there are three key things that help me stay relatively balanced. And I’ll be the first to admit, it’s always a work in progress!

These things are Prioritizing, Organizing and Planning.

Prioritizing: I am always taking a look at my “big picture” life and seeing what’s most important for me to spend time on. Work, training, household responsibilities, recreation, travel, social time, and relationships are things I prioritize at various levels, and the levels can change. Knowing what I want to spend my time on allows me to focus on those things more and reduce distractions.

Organizing: I am on a quest to be more efficient in my routines, and work on having systems for as much as possible. I’ve been using trello.com this past year to help with organizing my priorities. The more I’m electronically organized and physically organized, the more productive and balanced I can be.

In addition, I personally want to have my non-work/training life as simple as possible. I live in a relatively small space which forces me to keep my things organized and put away or I’ll trip over them. Keeping my space mostly clean also helps keep me focused on other things. [I have a clutter threshold – if things get too bad, I feel compelled to straighten up as it’s distracting.]

Planning: I really try to plan my work by month and week. I look at each month and then make a list of things I want to get done each week. I also trying to look ahead to things that aren’t in my usual routine (like travel) so I can plan ahead. I use Google calendar to schedule what I’m working on in blocks of time. I schedule my training in my calendar as well. It’s an appointment just like anything else. You can, and should, plan blocks of nothing every so often! (I need to get better at that…)

Sometimes we have to make compromises and let something slip, but if we know what’s most important to us, it’s easier to make those compromises. Personally, after work time, my training (or physical activity) is very important to me, as is sleep! Things might (often) take longer than planned, so by staying relatively organized, knowing priorities, and seeing the planned calendar, we can balance the workload of life, travel, and enjoy something spontaneous every so often. And as I mentioned, for me, this is all a continuous work in progress!

To send your question to Coach Nicole, simply fill out this form!