Lesson 9 – Work-life (off) balance

We often hear people talk about “work-life balance” and having been an elite athlete for 10 years, meant that this simply didn’t exist. I spent my days living and breathing an elite lifestyle, trying to find all the 1%’s that I possibly could. Following retirement and during my 10 years of experience in the real world I have often reflected on this mythical “work-life balance”.

When your mindset is to do things well, to do the work and you understand the responsibility you have as a coach, you can understand why this concept has been one that has eluded me until fairly recently.

I’ve been lucky to have spent time with some super smart people and one thing they all have in common is they dispel this myth of a work-life balance. What I realized is that my world is not 9-5; so when I’m at competitions every week or away for weeks on end at training camps, to embrace it. And when we are in the winter months with no competitions and lots of planning, to embrace that too. It’s easier to get your head around work-life balance when you look at it over the course of the year rather than day to day.

The world I work in can be full on at times, it would be really easy to burn out during the summer months when we are on the road most weeks. Experience has taught me my top tips for survival during these busy periods; exercise, coffee, time on my own. And during the less busy times I am making the most of time with family and friends and generally enjoying life away from the track, usually at a spa.

Work-life balance ebs and flows through the year. Learn to ride the waves and embrace each phase you are in.