My Journey With Health And Fitness – Juggling Work, Volunteering, Exercise And Social Life

Ok, this morning has been a bit crazy. Our friend found a contact for a contractor to come in and replace the hinges on our shower doors because they are corroding and one door has actually failed. This is great as it will be completed by them and done properly. We got everything set up for them to come this afternoon. It was then up to me to find a way to pay them (payment has to be shown before they start the work) which took a bit of work. I should note, so did typing all the WhatsApp messages into google translate! Anyways, the big challenge was being able to provide them with a map of where are condo is. Trust me, it took far too much time out of our morning and thus tequila is now involved.

This past week I have been trying to get some work done. My clients are now at year end meaning I need to get everything input, balanced, adjustments done, financial statements prepped for Board meetings, info sent to the accountant, etc. I got a jump start on one client the beginning of the week and got a lot done. Then yesterday the other client sent their year end information so now I need to start working on that.

Now add to that the fact that several of my volunteer organizations had work for me this week. This included a Zoom meeting, writing a report for a meeting I wasn’t able to attend (it wasn’t available on Zoom). I had to get caught up on emails and do some work for a 3rd organization this week and that work is still ongoing. You add on top of all of this the fact that I work out 3 hours each weekday and you can probably see how a big chunk of my day is taken up.

However, when we come to the condo the goal is to get some relaxation time in as well as socialize with our friends. So how am I supposed to do that and juggle all the other stuff? Simply put, I make sure there are boundaries put in place. That means if we want to go out or plan to socialize by the pool with our friends then I restrict myself to no more than 3 hours of work. This of course can change if there is urgent work that I need to do but so far that hasn’t happened. I recognize that there is a lot of stress in my life so I know I need to have recovery time while I am here so I am pretty stringent on saying no to volunteer organizations when I need to. Funny they seem to understand but then they want me re-energized so that I can work harder for them when I come home.

It is possible to juggle all your commitments and still find time for relaxation and a social life, you just have to be dedicated and keep those boundaries firm.