But I don't have time...

This week I was asked to guest blog on the website of my personal trainer/gym about how I make time to show up every week.

At first it didn’t seem like it would be something relatable to publish here on this website, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized it was perfect for here.

As business owners, we constantly struggle with trying to balance what our business needs with what we need. Usually one of the first things to go is our physical health, as the demands of growing a business mix with the demands of our personal lives. Family, friends, our homes and our “To Do” list take what little time we have left at the end of the week, and it seems impossible to fit anything else in.

So, this blog this week is about making time for whatever that “thing” is that you know you need in your life. It could be going to the gym, or it could be reading a book you’ve had on your list forever. Whatever it is, it’s important that we work that time in, even when it’s hard. Taking that time for yourself will help make you a better leader, and a more effective business owner.

And when you accomplish that goal, it’s even more important to celebrate that. It doesn’t matter if someone in your newsfeed did more than you. You did it! Celebrating yourself and your accomplishments will help keep you moving forward.

So check it out below!

Going to the gym twice a week doesn’t seem like a huge accomplishment. Most of the people that you think of who are accomplished in the area of fitness are showing up 4-5 times a week, working out for hours at a time.

But for me twice a week is something to celebrate.

My life looks like so many others. I have to drag myself out of bed at 7am - anything earlier is simply not going to happen. The next hour looks like chaos as I attempt to dress myself, my 2 year old, take the dog out and chug down a cup of coffee.

After wrestling a toddler in the car and into daycare, it’s off to the office for a steady stream of client work, admin work, and meetings. My meals usually are a series of snacks in between tasks, and I power through until about 4:30/5pm where I attempt to finish a last few tasks before rushing out to pick my daughter up at daycare before it gets too late.

Then it’s home, and the negotiations around getting a toddler to eat dinner, take a bath, get in PJ’s, brush teeth, read a book, and go to bed begin. This 2.5 hour process ends around 8pm when I scour the pantry for something quick for dinner (because I’m starving at this point). Then I grab my computer and shoot out a last few emails, watch a few episodes of something on Netflix and then head upstairs for bed around 10pm.

This repeats itself throughout the week. Then the weekends hit and those are usually filled with trying to think of fun things for a toddler to do, cleaning, and working on our 1960’s house that we purchased a few months ago.

Basically I’m exhausted - but I’m not special in this schedule. Almost everyone’s day is filled to the brim like mine, and it often can feel impossible to fit one more thing in. Especially something that is going to require a lot of time, energy and effort on your part.

Yet, despite being perpetually tired, and really not being a fan of hard physical work, I’ve shown up at Jtab training, twice a week, pretty much every week for 5 years now.

There’s no special secret to showing up. It’s hard when my daughter has a bad night and is up multiple times. It’s hard when it’s cold outside and the covers feels so warm. It’s hard when yet ANOTHER daycare cold sweeps through the house and we’re all sick, AGAIN. And it’s hard when I see the emails rolling in with client work that I know I will have to stay up late to do if I take time out of my day to go to the gym.

It’s hard. And sometimes it sucks. And sometimes I don’t want to do it.

But I push through those feelings and show up anyways because I like how I feel when I’m done. I like being able to help out with projects around the house. I like being able to carry in all my grocery bags in in one trip. I like having time carved out in my week to do something that makes me feel like a human again (and not just a mom). And I like being able to pick up my ever growing kid without worrying about hurting my knees or back.

So, moral of the story is that 5 years in, it’s still hard. It’s not easy for me to weave in going to the gym in my incredibly packed schedule. But it’s become a major priority in my life - so I make time in my weekly calendar to show up and get it done.

And then I celebrate myself for doing it. Because for someone like me (and you!), going to the gym twice a week takes a MASSIVE effort and it deserves to be celebrated.