When I started RevFit in 2009, I was building everything from the ground up. From client one and beyond, it was a slow, often uncomfortable growth period where I constantly challenged myself to do enough networking, meet enough people and get good results through training.
At the time, I was hungry and desperate to fill in every possible space in my planner with training appointments. I would start as early as 5am and often go until as late as 7pm just to get as many people through my door as possible.
My only goal, aside from making my clients happy was filling in as much of the blank space as possible.
And of course, what I sacrificed was my own self-care, time with my loved ones and the habits I was working so hard to help my clients improve.
As business grew and I was able to hire other trainers to help me balance the load, I would find areas in the day to get my own training in, even if it was a less than ideal time or length of time (which it frequently was).
By 2018, I reached a point where I was starting to max out my capacity for what I could do in the span of the same 24 hours everyone else has access to in a day. So, I made a judgment call based on the advice of coaches who ran facilities similar to mine whose success I wanted to achieve: I divided our training blocks and forced blank space into my day.
It was a calculated risk because I knew that invariably I might lose some business. I did, but it was very minimal. What I gained in return was time to breathe, time to train, time to eat lunch, time to decompress, time to run errands for the business, time to do client consultations, time to work on this blog and record my podcast.
I’ve become very motivated by that blank space because it enforces the boundaries I need for my own well-being and to make sure that all of the things that happen behind closed doors at the studio are taken care of.
I don’t train as early as 5am anymore but we do get started at 530a and I no longer train until 7pm. Most evenings, we wrap up by 530p (give or take) so that I can get home to my family and enjoy dinner and some downtime before it’s off to bed and the next day repeats.
Many people work a more traditional day than I do, so 8a-5p or 9a-6p might be more their norm. That means, that if they want to achieve the same blank space to take care of themselves and their health, they’ll have to do so on the bookends (either before work, after work, or both).
It also may require turning into bed sooner at night so that there is room for blank space the next morning. If you’re up late, and you rise late, you’re already behind the ball. And it’s hard to gain confidence in your day when you’re in a race with the clock and the clock continues to win.
As you read this, think about the areas in the span of your day where you need to create blank space. Maybe every day doesn’t need to be filled from bell to bell with appointments and everyone else but you dictating your schedule.
I believe, that even though it’s not perfect and things can still come up that throw your schedule off, the balance you’re trying to achieve with your diet, your training and your goals is going to be easier to achieve once you prioritize the way your day can go outside of your normal schedule.
Much like a lot of things in life, it takes practice. Not only to set the time but to make sure that you get the time.
Speaking only for myself, it was a game changer for me and chances are, it will be for you, too.
