How to Balance Fitness, Work and a Side Hustle
I’m super excited to share this, because I’m actively working through this right now! So to start out, and save the hustlers from wasting their time, this is going to be a chill and long-term approach to this.
I’ve done the hustle and grind, long days and short nights, stressing and working, and it brought nothing to fruition. And not from lack of effort, trying or learning. I was just listening to the wrong people, in the sense that what they were sharing and promoting wasn’t really the outcome I wanted for my life.
It’s what I THOUGHT I wanted, but really, it wasn’t.
So now, this time around, how I’m approaching building a business(es), while working part-time and trying to take care of myself in a healthy way, is turning into a MUCH better approach.
I’m not stressed every single day, I have actionable steps each day, week and month to grow, and I’m finally, truly, enjoying the process.
And best part? I can’t wait to write an updated blog in 6 months, sharing how things have been going!
So below I’ll share my process for deciding and coming up with my plan, how to adjust as you move forward, and then sharing my personal plan where you can actively follow along as I share on Instagram and YouTube!
What we’ll cover:
Ideal goals
Mindset adjust
Plan and schedule
Test and adjust
My personal plan!
Ideal Goals
Like any change in life, it all starts with setting goals. But unlike our hustling past, we’re going to take the lessons we’ve learned from stress and burnout, and set goals that are realistic for life now and moving forward, and still push us a LITTLE.
So here’s what I want you to think about, ask yourself, and start listing this out.
What is the ultimate goal with this change in life?
Are you trying to grow a business, change your fitness routine, start a new job, post more on social media, follow or try a new diet, change your approach to life, add in more walks to your life, etc.
What are you willing and unwilling to do to achieve it?
Be realistic with your schedule, energy levels, abilities and time.
What timeframe can you realistically commit to?
Based on the two above questions, will this take 6 months to a year, will this be a lifelong commitment that will take a month or two to solidify and get used to, or are you going to do everything and then some to try and see results quicker?
All of which are possible, and we’ll talk the mindset next, but we’re taking a more chill and balanced approach to these changes this time. And if it’s something you REALLY want to do, then it’s worth investing the time into.
Mindset Approach
Now, once you’ve laid all of that out, we need to make sure out mindset is in the right spot. And if it wasn’t when you first wrote them down, it’s time to adjust now rather than burning yourself out and continuing the spiral you’ve been on for years.
The change happens now!
Again, this isn’t about hustling, doing whatever it takes, always working and growing, or forcing results.
We need to be realistic, but also open to change happening fast. And here’s how that happens.
The approach this time is one of investing. Not throwing thousands of dollars into something like we have in the past, but investing the time it takes to not only see big change but create a lasting legacy.
So ask yourself, is this something you want to have in your life 3 years down the road if it all works out?
If so, then are you willing to invest that same amount of time without seeing the big results quickly? That can change how you feel about things. Especially if you’re forcing, throwing a lot on your plate and under constant stress.
But that doesn’t mean you have to quit your goal or change everything. It may just be changing the approach.
For instance, as much as I’d LOVE to see more than $3 profit after 3 months of my blog, more than 25 views on my last reel, more than 5 pounds lost in 6 months, or more financially stable than I am at 30, I want to actually enjoy the journey.
I’ve hustled, stressed and put myself in tough situations in the name of growth. I wanted to prove I was worthy of massive success, and in the process, forgot the reason I even started all of this 12 years ago:
I liked it.
So with this new approach, if you can make it so you look forward to doing the things it will take for slow and steady growth, then you WILL be able to stick with it and see results.
And to make sure you set yourself up for success, check out Self Care Tips to Avoid Burnout for more ways to take care of yourself this time around.
Plan and Schedule
Now with that mindset and your goals, it’s time to figure out how you’ll make all of this work.
Again, I’ll share below how I personally approached all of this and created my plan, but here’s what I suggest for you:
Being realistic with what you’re capable of doing because this is about the journey, doing this because you want to or have a passion for it, and not stressing about the timeframe, how can we break down your goals into quarterly, monthly, weekly and daily tasks.
This can be daily or weekly posts you make on social media around what you’re trying to do.
It could be how often you’re going to work on going to the gym (if you want more ideas on how to create that plan, check out The Best Workout For You).
Even if you’re going to school or taking an online course, how often can you commit to it each week?
Then, for monthly, how much do you want to accomplish or what results will you be working towards, and in the sense of what you can 100% control.
You can’t guarantee to blow up on social media, lose a certain amount of weight or have a super consistent schedule everyday when just changing things.
There are so many factors outside of yourself, and also biologically that could prevent things from happening.
But if you more focus on posting 1 blog a week or 2 a month, posting daily on socials or 3 times a week, going to the gym 3-5 times a week, or trying to get outside everyday, those are things you CAN control and set goals for each month.
Then what I would recommend for the quarterly or every 6 month check in, is to just be honest and see where you’re at.
How are things working out?
Are you actually seeing results that lead to your goals being accomplished?
Or does something need to change or be adjusted in order to see the changes?
Test and Adjust
This is the final part that will never go away, and that should be encouraging!
Sometimes the original plan doesn’t actually work for your life at the moment, sometimes you can do more than you originally thought, and sometimes you just need a change.
This, again, can be based on available time, scheduling, energy, results, or changes you need to implement.
This is also where the quarterly and 6 month check ins happen.
I want you to COMMIT to sticking with your plan for that amount of time before trying something new or implementing the new “proven” way to see results.
That’s because we get distracted with the new and best way to do things. We don’t want to waste our time, we want to see results now, and sometimes that involves looking TOO much at what to do.
So commit to your plan of consistency, only change things if it’s not working like you want (I relate this to if your workout plan doesn’t actually work for your energy levels at the moment and needs to be adjusted based on that) and continue to go from there!
My Personal Plan
So here’s how I did all of this!
After my break from work thanks to my amazing boyfriend, my 3 months of applying to jobs or creating my new career path brought in no money, so I needed to adjust.
After accepting that a job to pay the bills, enjoying something chill and not making it mean anything more than that about me personally, I started applying to part-time jobs.
In the past, I would’ve jumped to full-time because that’s what you need to do right? I will say, I am in the fortunate position of living with my boyfriend. He's still helping me a bit, but part-time work allows me to pay all my bills, and have a little spending money outside of that. I also have a terrible history of giving my all and losing myself mentally to full time work while trying to build something on the side. So this time, I’m committing to growing my blog and Pinterest Management, while allowing days out of my week to make that happen. NOT forcing weekend work which does lead to burnout and depression for me.
The bakery job was the first one to contact me, so I took it, committed to Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, and started the holiday season. My schedule wasn’t super consistent because we started with some days longer than 8 hours, and picking up shifts when holidays landed on my typical days to work and the bakery was closed. So my “ideal schedule” has been a work-in-progress.
Rather than stressing about not being consistent with reaching out to potential clients about Pinterest Management, going to the gym, being better with my diet or doing “more”, I approached the first few weeks of the new job as seeing how I’m feeling.
Based on my energy, time and goals, I created a plan that I can commit to now, although it did take an extra week of trial and error to solidify.
All of that being said, here’s my plan!
I’m committing to posting 6-7 times a week on Instagram for the next 30 days, and will check in to see if I can commit to it longer, or need to adjust from there.
I’m going to post a blog every Tuesday, share it on socials and create more proof that I know what I’m doing when it comes to Pinterest in the process. I’m committing to a 6 month plan of content and will check in on month 5 for my plan after that with what is and isn’t working.
I have a better understanding of my energy on bakery days, so my gym workouts are more focused on keeping my body strong and stable with joint support rather than going crazy.
Diet is still changing as I try to get a bit more energy during the day so I can go to bed at a decent hour (my bakery shift is 3a-11a, so more sleep is needed as I haven’t been great with going to bed earlier).
I’m wanting to post weekly on YouTube with a video based on my blog, and then repurposing some Instagram reels there too.
And finally, I’m working on reading daily for enjoyment, going on more trail wants, and trying new hobbies. In the past, it was all work and no play, and if I had a full day off, then I was a failure. So anything that simply brought me joy without improving me towards my goals was a waste of time.
And that’s what all of this is about! It’s about enjoying the process, still having a life and seeing what happens outside of that.
I could check back in 6 months and have no results, and that’s ok! Honestly, if I think of that, I’m excited to keep exploring other options and to try again.
When I look back at my past attempts and business and personal growth, when I was having fun with the journey, results started to happen. But the moment I was stressing, forcing change or trying someone else’s “best” way to grow out of fear, I saw no results and started losing the joy of it all.
This is not a quick fix or hidden secret to change. But it is a better long-term approach to trying to create something different in your life.
It usually takes a month for me to really get into a new routine. That’s plenty of time for challenges to come up, life to throw a curveball or two at you (in big or small ways) and to readjust to the change. After that, you start to see slow but steady growth based on the little base you created. And it can only grow from there.
So try not to stress too much and learn to enjoy the process.
I promise, it’s a MUCH more enjoyable way to go about life!
