02 Nov How to Stay Organized
I have always needed help staying organized. Growing up, I was involved in many extracurricular activities which made it hard to maintain my grades. As an adult, I still struggle with organization and time management. Taking my time has never come easy. I have to work really hard to plan and organize in order to build structure for myself as well as break bad habits.
Through the years and the careers I’ve had especially in sales and management, I found that I had to be organized or fail. I dropped the ball a time or two before I figured out that taking a couple more seconds to pay more attention to detail was not only important, but I also enjoyed it. I loved the feeling of being on top of things. It was then that I started really excelling in my job. I was a coming of age, a huge growth period.
Once I got my work life together, I started implementing my new organization habits into my everyday life. I found that once I got my life completely organized I was better able to keep track of my finances, budget, grocery shopping, laundry, and meal prep all fell into place. I was able to get into a good workout routine and things were flowing! This all affected my mood and I felt a new sense of calm and happiness. For the first time, I really felt in control of the things in my life, in a healthy way.
Fast forward waaaaayyy ahead to 2015 when I was in personal training school at the National Personal Training Institute, listening to the guest speaker from a big corporate gym talking about the pay, hours, structures of new trainers, and how they progress. I was completely unimpressed and questioning my change in career. It was the following weekend when I took the elective class, ‘Starting Your Own Fitness Business,’ when I realized that because of my background in sales, marketing, and money management, I had other options! I could start my own business! I could be my own boss, allowing for so much more time with my daughter, flexibility, and overall a much better quality of life. I also knew that it was going to take a lot of that organizational skills that I had developed to make it work.
Being your own boss is harder than it sounds. Funny, right? But it takes discipline, time management, perseverance, drive, and passion. It takes the organization of your time, schedule, and clients. How will you be a successful trainer if you are missing sessions, forgetting to update programming, and don’t make time for office work? If you haven’t already, you have got to get organized.
I stay on top of managing my clients through a software app called Trainerize. On Trainerize, I am able to see who is checking-in for their workouts, making notes of their progress, and so much more. This way the client can utilize the app on their end too! They can make comments on the exercises programmed and record weights used. I am able to build custom programs, upload personalized nutrition plans, and keep up with body stats. This is an awesome tool that really has made a huge difference in my training business. Not only am I able to offer Trainerize services to clients for the days they aren’t in session with me, but I can also work with clients all over the united states virtually!
Another tool I like to use is the Google Calendar App. It is so easy to use and link with other schedules and events. You can color code your entries so you know what is business and what is personal. For example, anything that is a personal activity I record in grey, personal training sessions, and work meetings are in purple, while my daughter’s activities are in pink. This way at a glance, I can quickly tell what I have planned out for the day.
I find that it is incredibly important to have your schedule in multiple places. If your phone dies or happen to drop it in a puddle, you can’t be left hanging high and dry without a schedule. That’s why I always have a backup. I found an amazing BlueSky planner that is perfect for just about everything! Occasionally life will sneak up on me all my planning goes out the window. (I’m a mom of a 6-year-old…pardon me here and there, please!) I hate wasting a week’s worth of paper when my schedule gets disheveled, which is why I’m happy that his notebook allows you to circle the date and month that you are planning for on each page! So if you miss a day or a week, you can always get right back on track without wasting space. It even has a column for “To Do” items, Notes, and Appointments. It is in Appointments where I will use a Post It Marker to schedule my personal training clients and meetings. Peoples schedules change, sometimes very last minute. For this reason, I like to have the option to take off a sticky note or move it to another day. I make notes on who I am seeing for the day, what things I need to accomplish for office work and the To Do items for each day. I like to use this method to stay on top of all things in my world, both personal and professional. You don’t want to get caught missing a family function or work event due to mismanaged schedule.
Utilizing tools such as apps and office supplies can be a huge help when running your own business. I highly suggest finding what works for you, or adopting some of my methods! Its all about your organization skills. Feel good about taking the extra time to pay attention to detail. Make sure you are doing all you can to hold yourself accountable and ALWAYS remember to persevere with all of your heart!