Setting Boundaries: Work-Life Balance and Identifying the Non-Negotiables for Your Business

The fitness industry is renowned for its passion-driven professionals who are committed to helping others achieve their health and wellness goals. However, maintaining a healthy work-life balance can be challenging making the process of setting boundaries imperative from the start to prevent burnout. In this article, we will explore effective strategies to help newcomers in the field and seasoned trainers strike a harmonious balance between their work responsibilities and personal well-being.

How New Trainers Can Manage Work-Life Balance Challenge

If you are a new professional entering the workforce, whether that be as an employee at a box gym, an independent contractor working for a small gym, or starting your own business and hustling for in-home clients, you may often find yourself consumed by the demands of building a client base, managing schedules, and continuously expanding your knowledge.

This (understandable) dedication can lead to neglecting personal time, relationships, and self-care. Establishing a healthy work-life balance is crucial to nurture both professional sustainability and personal well-being, and ultimately, preventing burn-out in a career that you love.

Setting Boundaries

One of the first steps towards achieving work-life balance is setting clear boundaries right out of the gate. New personal training professionals should define specific work hours and allocate appropriate blocks of time for personal activities, rest, and relaxation. Communicating these boundaries to your clients, colleagues, and employers fosters understanding and respect for your personal time, ensuring a healthier balance between work and personal life.

Further, it’s okay to say, “My plate is as full as I’d like it to be right now,” if you need to create space for yourself, or, “I’m sorry, that’s outside of my scheduled work hours,” if a potential client wants to schedule a time convenient for them, but not for you.

Effective Time Management

Time management skills play a vital role in maintaining work-life balance. New personal trainers should prioritize tasks, create daily or weekly schedules, and allocate time for self-care, exercise, and family or social commitments. By using productivity techniques, such as the Pomodoro Technique or time-blocking,  you can optimize your efficiency and ensure dedicated time for both work and personal life.

A common mistake made by new personal trainers is scheduling clients back-to-back without allowing time for even a bathroom break in between. Rather than announcing to your next waiting client, “Give me a minute I have to run to the restroom!” schedule clients with at least a 15-minute cushion in between each. You are selling a service, not your time; manage the latter well and you will be a more effective trainer.

Self-Care and Stress Management

Self-care is crucial for managing stress and avoiding burnout. New fitness professionals should prioritize their physical and mental well-being by still engaging in regular exercise, eating nutritious meals, and getting enough sleep. What kind of coach are you if you can’t walk the walk? Additionally, incorporating stress management techniques like mindfulness, meditation, or journaling can help maintain emotional balance amidst the demands of the industry.

Seeking Support and Collaboration

No one can achieve work-life balance alone. New personal trainers should seek support and collaboration from peers, mentors, or industry networks. Engaging in communities of like-minded fitness professionals can provide guidance, advice, and valuable insights on managing work-life balance. Sharing experiences, challenges, and strategies with others can offer a sense of camaraderie and perspective, helping navigate the industry more effectively.

Flexibility and Adaptability

The fitness industry can be dynamic and unpredictable, requiring health and fitness coaches to be flexible and adaptable. Embracing change, learning to delegate or outsource tasks, and adjusting schedules when necessary can prevent feelings of overwhelm and promote a healthier work-life balance. By remaining open to new opportunities and approaches, you can find creative ways to manage your workload and personal commitments more effectively.

Achieving work-life balance is a continuous journey for new professionals in the fitness industry. By setting boundaries, practicing effective time management, prioritizing self-care, seeking support, and embracing flexibility, you can create a more sustainable and fulfilling career while nurturing your personal well-being. Striking the right balance ensures longevity, job satisfaction, and overall happiness in both professional and personal aspects of your life.

 

Identifying “Non-Negotiables”

As businesses go, they are as unique as every client you will encounter. This makes being a business owner an experiment in many ways (sort of like in science). Everything from the identified structure (LLC to Partnership to S-Corp) to the logo, the tag line, the general look and feel of a website/social media accounts, to the budget and marketing plan is an individual choice by the owner (or partners if that is the case). In short, there are tons of decisions to make, and this feels overwhelming. But that is what a solid business plan is for (a topic for another day).

Where it gets sticky and tricky is deciding the “non-negotiables”. As an entrepreneur, you are both the boss and employee, so our boundaries are challenged by not only yourself as the owner/proprietor, but by those we serve if we do not outline what we are willing to accept and not accept.

Why is this difficult? Because there is this unique (and sometimes crushing) pressure business owners experience. Simply stated, if you aren’t working, you aren’t earning. However, neglecting to set boundaries (the non-negotiables), burnout sets in, and earnings decline anyway. How is the business owner to embrace the business non-negotiables successfully and do so consistently? Let’s start by defining them and what they mean to you and for your customer base.

Defining the “Must-Haves” is Step One

The must-haves are those tactics, strategies, or boundaries you deem necessary to keep your business (and yourself) running successfully. Think of these as rules. For example, in your personal life non-negotiables might include sleep, nutrition, movement, and downtime. When you imagine your business and what defines your best practices, what appears for you? Let that question marinate for a minute and then jot down some ideas.

For me, not working weekends or replying to emails or business-related messages after a certain point in the day are two of my “must-haves”. I communicate these to my clients and let them know upfront the methods by which to contact me outside of session experiences and times and at what point in the day I am not likely to reply due to family time or other personal endeavors.

Once you jot down your ideas, categorize them into “nice to haves” and “non-negotiables”. Ask yourself, if these are my rules, do I envision myself breaking them? If so, why, and what would entice me to break them? If a rule on your list is breakable, move that to the “nice-to-have” section. Your “must-haves” are not breakable.

A Plan to Support the Must-Haves

You already took the first step, you identified a few of your needs. Now, the additional work and “contract” with yourself begins. After defining those needs, engage in these four remaining steps.

1. Post them. In other words, write them down formally as an agreement with yourself. Place them somewhere visible.
2. Review them regularly. You will find as your business grows, your rules may change (much like your philosophy and perspective). It is all part of the growing process, so it stands to reason that your rules might change. Ask if the rules you have are still applicable based on how your business has changed.
3. Communicate them. Clients need to know your boundaries. A lack of boundaries invites additional layers of stress. I recommend placing the non-negotiables in a client welcome packet or as part of your client intake process. Consider posting a note on your website or in your contact form that gives clients an expectation of response time should they try to contact you after working hours.
4. Share them with your team. This rule may not apply if you are working solo and do not have contracted professionals within your business structure. If you are a sole owner, consider your team as your family and friends. Sharing your boundaries adds a measure of accountability and allows those on our “team” to keep us in check if we start to bend a rule.

Boundaries are necessary to protect your business, your clients, and your personal life. If you have not considered setting them before, this is your call to action to do so.