Managing the Endurance Event Called Life - Work-Life Balance Articles

Managing the Endurance Event Called Life 
By Sharon Teitelbaum, MA, MCC, Sharon@stcoach.com

It's easy to believe that simply "managing your time better" will help you achieve work-life balance. Here's a secret: to achieve real work-life balance success, you have to manage and plan for your life just as you would a physical endurance event, such as a marathon or bike ride.

I learned this lesson when I participated in the Pan Mass Challenge, a 170-mile, two-day bike ride from Wellesley, MA to Provincetown, Cape Cod, seven years ago. (The event raises millions of dollars for The Jimmy Fund, which supports cancer research.)

Having never participated in an event like this, I had absolutely no clue what was in store for me.

In short, I was completely overwhelmed and realized early on that going to spin class regularly at the gym was not enough to prepare me for a grueling two-day bike ride on the roads of Massachusetts. The two activities are simply not comparable.

You can apply the five lessons I learned training for this event (which I did two years running) to any endurance event – especially the one called Your Life:

1. Everything counts – Lance Armstrong wrote a book: It's Not About the Bike. Let me just emphatically state, "Often it is about the bike," something I quickly learned after a few training rides on my heavy klunker of a hand-me-down bike.

When managing your life, you have to look at everything. If something in your life is an energy drain (like my heavy bike), you can replace with something better, eliminate it, delegate it, or in some other way stop it from draining you. For example, if housework is a huge chore, you can brainstorm new solutions with your kids, spouse, or housemates, hire a cleaning service, lower your standards, or simply let it go.  I bought a new light-weight bike.

2. Don't go it alone – Because I had no idea how to train for an endurance event, I joined a bike club and solicited help from a trainer at the gym, who made up a training plan for me. I met people, received lots of advice and support, learned how to eat right for training and distance cycling and, most important, I worked my training plan religiously.

You can use the same principle when managing your life. If you're a new mother who also works, for example, find (or start) a group of like-minded working moms with older children who can offer inspiration and advice. If you're new to a field, you may find "your people" in a professional organization. Whatever your situation, it's important that you have a group of people who can help support you.

3. Reframe "negative" situations – If you've participated in an endurance event such as a marathon, you know that the real challenge is in your head. My own "head game" had to do with the fact that I was a s-l-o-w rider and that people always passed me during training rides.

To overcome this challenge, I had to do reframes. Instead of comparing myself to other riders, I reminded myself to stay focused on my own ride. For me, the event was about finishing period, not finishing with the heroes.

The same principal holds for your life. One client I work with felt guilty for wanting to take a break at the end of the day to walk her dog. To alleviate her guilt, we reframed the walk: instead of a "guilty pleasure," her walk is now a time to unwind and give herself some much-needed space to mull over project work.

4. Deal with hills one foot at a time – During my training, I found hills incredibly challenging. In fact, I felt physical fear each time I encountered one – the same kind of fear you may be feeling at the thought of taking a risk, asking for a change at work, or managing a huge project.

The trick to dealing with fear, as I learned with real hills, is to focus on what you're doing right now. What action steps can you take now to help you up the hill? Your real power is living in the moment and catching yourself: instead of slipping into fear, focus instead on what you can do next.

5. Express gratitude – A week before the Pan Mass Challenge, the organizer sent out an email saying, "You've done your training, you've done your fundraising, the ride is your reward for your hard work." He was right. I still get teary when I think of the hundreds of spectators holding signs that read, "My son is 14 because of the Jimmy Fund" or "Thank you for your work, you're helping me live."

In the endurance event known as your life, don't be afraid of hard work, but also express gratitude and appreciation for what is working in your life – from sitting down to dinner with your family to being able to take a much needed nap on a Saturday afternoon, to realizing it's finally, really spring.

To achieve work-life balance success, you must nourish and hydrate yourself through the long-haul: eliminate energy drains, find supportive people, break down big challenges into smaller, more manageable ones and appreciate what's working in your life.

Copyright 2009 Sharon Teitelbaum