IT'S ALL ABOUT BALANCE: JUST AS I BALANCE MY DIET WITH ENJOYING MY LIFE, I AM LEARNING TO BALANCE ALL OTHER ASPECTS OF MY LIFE AND TRAINING! I work about 60 hours a week and go to school full-time online. I also squeeze in my training at lunch(I have a long lunch break) and like to read for school while I'm doing cardio. I do my best to balance my work hours, social life, school, and building my dream career with my show prep. I have learned that I am EXHAUSTED when I get off work (I often start my workday at 5 or 6 am and don't leave work until 8pm), and instead of trying to fight exhaustion to get schoolwork or client work done at night, I fill in the nooks and crannies in my morning and afternoon with these things. I do my best to relax and recharge when I get home at night, sine I don't usually have much time at home before I need to go to bed.
GETTING ADEQUATE SLEEP IS A VITAL PART OF BUILDING A STAGE-WORTHY PHYSIQUE, SO I CANNOT AFFORD TO BURN THE CANDLE AT BOTH ENDS IF I WANT TO ACHIEVE MY DREAM CAREER AND PHYSIQUE GOALS!
Make a to-do list each morning, and begin checking off the highest priority things first. Give priority to the tasks you least look forward to completing and finish them first. You are much more likely to avoid putting them off this way!
Take advantage of the "down-time". For example, if I have 5 minutes before my next client, I may make a quick phone call or get my pre-workout ready to go for training.
Make time for you! Each day, give yourself a little time to just enjoy something you love. Take the long way home and listen to your favorite music, watch an episode of your favorite TV show, read a few pages of your favorite book, write in a journal (or a blog!), and give yourself a chance to recharge and revamp. This keeps you from burning out!
Automate things (bills, etc) when you can.
Schedule time for your friends!
Keep an up to date planner, and keep all of your important appointments, deadlines, etc in one place. Personally, I love my giant daily planner that I color code with pretty pens, but online/digital calendars are great too! I even have all my low and high carb days listed in mine!
Set goals! Set weekly, monthly, yearly, and long term goals for yourself, and make sure that your daily actions are moving your closer to these goals.
Cut out people or things that do not have a positive impact on your life. This can be hard sometimes, but in the long run you will be better off!