Finding Work Life Balance as a Trainer | BridgeAthletic

Work Life Balance 

It can be hard to create a work life balance when your work is your life. Especially when you are just getting started.

As Strong Coach Mike Bledsoe says, "the people who are willing to go broke, are the ones who make it in the end."

You have to start at the bottom to make it to the top.

But that doesn't mean you can't find the proper work life balance so you can stick with training until you do make it. Not allowing yourself any down time will eventually cause burn out so find ways to integrate a balance.

Burnout is usually discussed when we talk about athletes - but it is important for coaches and trainers to think about in their own lives as well. Putting it in terms you will resonate with: your work and life should be thought of as interval training.

You need to do high energy work and then rest hard. Just like in interval training, you need real rest to let your body recover.

Learn more about implementing "interval training" in your daily life. 

Develop this mindset in your facility by getting creative. Whether you're developing a comprehensive methodology or you're leveraging new technology, try to have fun with your workflow and be sure these new tools actually help you become more efficient. You should take newfound rest time to think about how you can approach an exercise differently or notice how an individual reacts when he/she is getting frustrated so you can more effectively work with them.

Let these new tools tackle the more mundane, so you can get back to doing what you love.

Know the indicators of being overworked.

If you are feeling easily distracted, unmotivated or overwhelmed you could be on the path to burnout. If you only have time to do the aspects of your job that you hate, of course you aren't going to be happy.

So figure out what you like doing and what you don't so you can ensure to balance out the good and the bad.

Set Aside Distractions
Michael Cazayoux puts his phone aside and stops checking it for certain times throughout the day so he can get his other work done undistracted. Or close your email tab so you don't have a constant eye on new emails coming in. Because if you have it open you will get trapped into checking it and pause progress you are making elsewhere. Set aside time to check your email so you aren't taking your personal time to catch up on it or skip over work by getting lost in email threads.

Delegate when needed.
You can only take on so much. Work together with your staff so you aren't getting overwhelmed and tied up doing tasks that others are better suited for. Going back to creating a mission statement... if you and your staff are all on the same page, with the same values in mind, then trusting each other and the process you have shouldn't be an issue. Don't be afraid to lighten your load.