This post is sponsored by The Quaker Oats Company. As always, all opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting Kayla in the City.
It’s been about three weeks since my fall semester started. As I’ve mentioned, I’m teaching Yoga Sculpt in Williamsburg ~3 days a week. I’m also taking night classes for grad school, throwing events with my company, Holistic Happening, and doing blog stuff + freelance writing on the side. At times it feels like A LOT. Other times I’m like Hey, I can totally get a pedicure at 2PM on a Thursday. Why not!
My new schedule is COMPLETELY different than anything I’ve ever dealt with before. Some days I teach at 6AM and have school until 8:30PM. Woof. But I’m also lucky to have a few days off when I do my own thang.
I’m slowly figuring out my new schedule. Learning what works. And what DEFINITELY doesn’t work.
So this post goes out to all my hustlers, grad school students, yoga teachers, fitness pros and peeps with bizarre schedules. I feel you!
Balancing Teaching Yoga, Grad School and Freelancing
▶︎ I workout immediately after I teach.
This one is SO important for me. It’s something I used to try and do when I worked front desk at a fitness studio post-college.
After teaching I’m pretty pumped up — thanks, adrenaline! The fact that I’ve been awake since 4:15AM hasn’t hit me yet. I stick around and stay for the next class. One, I love supporting my fellow yoga instructors and learning from them. Two, I know when I get home I’ll sit on the couch and be a useless blob for a good hour. It’s just a fact of life.
Even if I’m pretty unproductive the rest of the day (which sometimes I am) I know I worked and worked out before 9:00AM. Not too shabby.
▶︎ Have breakfast waiting for me when I get home.
After teaching and taking class I am HANGRY. The last thing I want to do is spend time making breakfast when I just want food in my belly ASAP.
Nights before I teach, I’ve been preparing a container of Quaker Overnight Oats. I love that even if I’m getting home after 9PM from grad school, it takes two seconds to pour my milk of choice into the single serve container, stir, and let my oats cold-steep in the fridge overnight.
I teach in a heated room so coming home to something cool and nutritious is perfect.
My favorite flavors so far have been the Toasted Coconut & Almond Crunch and the Blueberry Banana & Vanilla Bliss. All the flavors are a good source of dietary fiber with 10 grams of fat or less per container and contain at least 11g of protein (when prepared with 1/2 cup of Vitamin A and Vitamin D Fortified Skim Milk).
▶︎ Push Meetings to the end of the week.
Mondays and Tuesdays are definitely the craziest for me. It’s when I have school. This means I need to stop what I’m doing and eat dinner by 4:30PM before class. I feel like the day goes by SO fast and next thing I know, it’s my early bird dinner time.
I’ve been trying to keep these days open so I can power through whatever work I need to get done for school or the blog. I find it easier than constantly stopping and starting up again for a phone call or coffee date.
▶︎ Live & Die By My To-Do List.
You guys know by now my LOVE of to-do lists. When you feel like you’re being pulled in a million directions, they’re necessary.
I switch up my to-do list format, depending on what’s going on that particular week. Some weeks I’ll write out a mega to-do list for the week and then assign stuff to specific days. Sometimes I go in order of when things are due or need to be done by. Other times I’ll just make a massive to-do list for the day. Whatever doesn’t get done will roll-over to the next day.
I don’t typically use g-cal, I prefer a paper planner. On especially crazy days I will use g-cal to visually look at my schedule for the week. It helps me to feel less crazed since I can see where the gaps in my day are.
▶︎ Batch Work.
I’m still working on this one but heard about this thanks to a podcast episode I listened to recently. The episode talked about batching work. For example, Mondays focusing solely on writing blog posts, Tuesdays grad school homework, and so.
I like the idea of having one focus for the day and it’s something I want to try implementing more. Although maybe I shouldn’t batch all my school work together. I’d procrastinate like crazy that day considering school is less fun than writing… If anyone batches their work like that I’d love to hear about how you do it.
Your turn: For any of my friends with crazy schedules and extra commitments — what are your tips for doing it all without going crazy?
It’s hard to juggle a ton, I get it as a busy mom, but planning is so key!
Totally agree, planning is everything!
I can totally relate to this post! I also always workout after teaching, it’s a must for getting my day started off strong , like you said–all before 9am! not too bad 🙂
It’s a good feeling! Although I don’t how you stay awake during the work day after, I’ve been such a zombie by mid-afternoon.
I like the idea of batch work. I’ve been experimenting with this too. Otherwise I feel easily overwhelmed with various projects.
I so hear you! It’s hard when you’re changing gears all the time.
I’m currently studying for my MCAT, working part time, writing, mentoring, and a lot of other fun activities. Like you, it brings on a crazyyy schedule. While I don’t “batch” work per say, I schedule in blocks of time (on an online schedule) everyday for specific activities. For example, on Mondays, I study for a couple of hours, have lunch, work on my writing, then practice martial arts at night. As long as I commit, I find myself being really productive even on days where I’m super lazy. Maybe this can work for others too!