Meet Kait
New Mexico native and Colorado transplant Kait is no stranger to the high altitude lifestyle which lets her actively pursue her favorite sports: running, swimming and mountain biking. When she’s not writing or studying her International MBA, she spends her time doing all the things the outdoors has to offer. The mountains are her training zone.
How on earth do you do it?!
I am not a morning person. Despite all my best intentions and set alarms, I have completely and utterly failed to run in the morning more than 4 times in my whole life. I can sleep a million hours the night before and I still can’t get up at the crack of dawn. This presents quite a challenge when trying to balance work, school, workouts and LIFE.
Between being a full-time MBA student, a partner in a start-up business, and a social hour addict and trying to stay in shape, most people ask me how I do it. Well the truth is, sometimes I manage it and sometimes something falls by the wayside. Half the time I’m thinking “I don’t know how I do it all!” and the other half it’s “I don’t know how to do it all…” During finals, hanging out with my friends and running are the first things to go. And as soon as those go out the window my sanity follows. I wish I could have everything together as fabulously as Gwyneth Paltrow! (See her tips on work/life balance here)
So what do I do? In the past couple of years I’ve learned how to adapt to my frequently changing and demanding lifestyle with a less rigid routine. Here’s what I’ve come up with so far:
+ Prioritize your day, week and month on a regular basis. This will help you organize your activities throughout the day to achieve the goals you need to. For instance, if you have a big presentation at work or a 5k Dirty Girl Mud Run, mark it in bold on your calendar and set aside an appropriate amount of time every day/week to work on it.
+ Keep a small to do list in front of you, on your desk or desktop screen, that stays as a constant reminder for those bigger goals.
+ Keep a separate to do list for your daily tasks, phone calls, emails, etc. that can be crossed off and won’t interfere with the bigger picture.
+ Set time limits for yourself for things like your phone, computer and tv, and stick to them. If you’re up until midnight answering texts or worried about responding to emails while you’re at the gym, you’re not as productive and focused on the tasks at hand. It also takes a lot longer to get something done if you’re constantly checking Facebook (although the Dirty Girl Mud Run fan page for motivation is ok!).
+ Figure out whether you’re a morning person or a night person, both for work and working out, and schedule accordingly. I’ve figured out that I work really well late at night but I have to work out in the evening, so I plan on working out before I finish any extra work I have for the day/night.
+ Be willing to accept that not everything will go according to plan, so have a backup plan. Rain is a recurring obstacle for runs outside so I have an indoors full-body workout that I can do in my living room. (Check out the video from Fitness Magazine)
+ Learn to recognize signs of fatigue and burnout, and make sure to give yourself a break if you’re starting to feel it. If you really, really don’t want to work out or go out with friends, give yourself the night off to relax. You’ll feel a lot better the next day and it will keep you from burning out completely.
+ Last, but certainly not least, find a guilty pleasure to help take your mind off things and rejuvenate your soul. I love sitting down to a hot cup of tea and reading all my Elle, Glamour, Fitness, and Vogue magazines.
It’s still an uphill battle for me but I’m getting better at it. How do you balance work, school, work outs and life?
August 31st, 2011
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