7 Ways I Have Continued/Leveled Up My Healthy Lifestyle While Working 60+ Hour Weeks:
A health coach's description on how to juggle it all, while keeping the healthy habits going.
1. Routine. There's a routine for days I work one job, there's a routine for days I work multiple. My mindset is to ask myself "HOW I can work healthy meals and exercise in between." HOW will I make it work, rather than, "CAN I make it work?"
2. A Plan. I always know what my work hours are. I keep one appointment book for everything: students, clients, shifts, conference calls and other appointments. My next priorities are my healthy lifestyle, so a workout is going to fit in the open blocks.
3. Multi-tasking. If I have an important passive activity I need to do, like listen to a podcast that needs listening to, I'll do it while on the treadmill. I've learned how to do things that don't need thought, like accounting, while on the phone. Again, I think about HOW to work things into my day, rather than IF.
4. Setting deadlines. Objective deadlines in my book make me work harder. I am NOT a procrastinator, so I'd rather get things done and out of the way rather than having them nag at me. Then I have more time for a workout. If there's a plan set for the week for healthy meals, then I won't have nagging feelings the day of for what to eat for dinner. Do more now, less later. I live and swear by this.
5. Understanding that there will be days where a 90-minute workout is impossible. Forgiving myself for it helps me look forward to the day where I can put one in.
6. To-Do Lists. Simply because I enjoy the satisfaction of scribbling out a completed task.
7. Most important for me right now: understanding that someday it won't be like this. In fact, it's already happening right now. I'm in the 50s this week, not the 60s. Next week because of the holiday it'll be even less. I look forward to those. The more I complete, the less I will work. This is my circumstance right now, look how much I've accomplished! I've earned more downtime. This is a good mentality for a tough workweek and days off. Consider doing one chore on a workday that you would normally do on a weekend. Maybe everything will be done by that day off, or at least less.
Did it work? Yes, I lost another pound since last week.