Lately I’ve been talking with you about stress because it’s about to be the busiest time of the year in our gyms. Your weeks will soon be filled with back-to-school enrollments, starting on your routine in anticipation of showcase, and full attendance on teams (after a summer of thinking you’d have a full team just to find out Suzy is at VBS, Sarah is out of town, and Sally is sick …).

That vacation you took in July was fantastic, but knowing the next one isn’t until March … that’s not going to cut it for stress management. So, you’re going to have to find some reasonable, daily things you can do to tame the beast until you can sit on a beach with a margarita in hand seven months from now … 🥴

Below, I’ve got five tips for stress management you can use in your daily routine. Not all will be everyday activities, but I find it necessary to rotate them out so that I look forward to the relief rather than see it as a chore for my mental health.

    1. Exercise. You’ve heard this before, and I know that, so I’m not going to give you the science behind it. I’ve said for years that exercise does not clear my brain or de-stress me. I spend my whole workout thinking, “This is hard and sucks. I can’t breathe.” But, I am a firm believer that exercise prevents bigger problems. Yes, your heart health is important, but what about your rotator cuffs, your knees and your neck when you’re spotting tumbling or stunts? The more consistent I am in my workouts, the less I hurt after teaching tumbling and stunts for four hours at a time. It’s hard to relax and de-stress when I’m in pain, and maintaining my strength and flexibility prevents that pain.
  • Meal prepping. Again, I’m actually not going to talk about the health factors because you know them. I’m going to tell you that when I get home after a long day of working and a long night of coaching and my kids are expecting dinner, I feel the weight of the world on my shoulders (sometimes it’s that rotator cuff too, though 😅). If I don’t plan ahead or meal prep a bit even just that morning, I find myself scrambling to feel like a good mom who feeds her two athletes healthy food. Of course, Justin and the kids take turns helping, but even that requires me to buy food they know how to cook and tell them in advance. Some nights, they’re not any less busy than me, so this task is often on my plate (no pun intended).
  • Turn off your brain. It took me 30 years of my life to learn how I turn off my brain. I’m telling you, this thing is constantly in a state of overthinking, overanalyzing, finding problems and figuring stuff out. Have you ever seen the meme that says, “I am going to bed early today. Me at 1 a.m.: Googling ‘How tall was Jesus?’” That’s me. I’m even writing this blog at 5 a.m. because I woke up for a minute and my brain started going long before I planned to wake up. So, how do I turn off my brain? I watch some mind-numbing show on TV. If you can turn your brain off by doing something more productive, I’m all for it, but this is what I’ve found works for me. So, I watch one episode a night of something: The Bachelor, a Netflix series—heck, even Jeopardy (I am a grandma living in a 39-year-old’s body 🤦‍♀️). For a lot of people, it’s reading a book, listening to a crime podcast, or playing music. For me, it’s TV, and it took me 30 years to accept this truth.
  • Make time to be social. Justin and I are a little different here, and this can be a challenge sometimes. While he’s more social when meeting new people, I’m definitely more social with our friends; I need that quality time. I know if we go to the sports lounge in town on Friday night, I’ll see ten people I know, and we’ll be able to chat for a few minutes. I also love doing things like escape rooms and concerts with small groups of friends. We’re still in the stage of life where we have kids at home (for just a couple more years), so I don’t make a lot of time to go out with friends, but I don’t let my social battery dwindle down too far either.
  • Everyday conveniences. Years ago, I ordered Instacart and Justin gave me a hard time for spending an extra $10 on the tip. Today, he understands this is what I need to minimize stress in my life. I have seven things that I need to return to Walmart this weekend? Why? Because I haven’t stepped foot in the store in two months. I order online and have my groceries delivered. We call our Amazon driver my “boyfriend” and our cleaning lady my “hero.” I pay more for these services because my time is worth more to me than the money associated with those things. I’m grateful for people who do those jobs. While these may seem like luxuries to some, the extra money I pay in service fees and tips employs people, while allowing me to spend my time doing things I love. Justin understands that now and knows that a happy wife equals a happy life—and Walmart on a Sunday doesn’t make for a happy wife.

Bonus: I have checklists on my phone for everything. Going out on the boat today? Here are the 11 things we need to remember to bring or do. Floating the river once a year? I’ll never forget my sunglasses again because of that checklist. Travel competition? I’ve got the checklist ready! These checklists take a few minutes to make and keep me from having to use valuable brain power remembering to “bring the floaty thing for my sunglasses so I don’t donate another pair to the Ozarks.”

What are some things you do to take stress off your plate? Do you have tips and tricks that might help other gym owners and coaches? If so, let us know what they are. This is an environment of collaboration where we make one another better together, so don’t keep all that good stuff to yourself 😉.

Key Takeaways:

  1. Stress management is a daily practice: Vacations are great, but in between, you’ll need to develop some daily habits to combat stress.

Finding balance is personal: The way you unwind and manage stress should be tailored to what genuinely works for you, even if it’s unconventional or considered “lazy” by the general public.