Inside the Club: Developing Balance in Your Life

In the last couple of years a lot has changed in my own life. I’ve gotten married, bought another dog and purchased a new house. That’s just personally. During the same period the company that oversees Club Solutions Magazine, aka Peake Media, has changed drastically, adding another publication and a multitude of new team members.

When I started there was only Club Solutions and a very small staff, but over the years we’ve all worked hard to grow that particular brand, but also launch publications in our wheelhouse and passions related to fitness. While it’s been fun, many of you understand what it’s like to manage multiple facilities or multiple programs with variations in demographic and personnel structure.

I’m very grateful to have the team we’ve comprised here at Peake Media. We have hired some of the top talent in the U.S. to help us grow in many directions. However, even having great players doesn’t mean there isn’t a struggle.

As many of you could probably attest, the one thing that causes a lot of us grief is getting out of our own way. You may have a lot of different aspects of your company to manage, which has needs in day-to-day. Focusing on those things is crucial, but what’s even more vital to your business and career is getting out of the muck and looking out past the horizon.

One of my continuous struggles has been maintaining that balance. I typically get caught in one of two places — I’m either too focused on the day-to-day, or I spend too much time looking out into the future.

In the first scenario I get trapped because I will get too engulfed in the current products we deliver and delivering them at a high level. Trust me when I say, I take each issue of all of our publications very seriously (sometimes another part of the struggle). I get so stuck in focusing on those that when I remember we have new projects coming down the line, I tend to get hit in the face with a lot of stress because I wasn’t balancing well.

The balance for me always has been the struggle. My friend’s dad once told us that life is nothing more than a balancing act. You’ll have all these major pieces in your life, and when one gets off balance, you’ll find yourself overwhelmed, stressed or out of place.

Sometimes I get trapped by the latter. I’m passionate about a lot of areas of my life and I like incorporating those passions into my major focus, which is publishing. I think about how those passions can exist as platforms (Facebook, Twitter), or how they might be developed either as a magazine, or website. These things interest me greatly and I enjoy working on them to grow the business. However, like I said, it’s all a balancing act. If you get too caught up in the future, you forget to look at what’s going on in the now.

In managing multiple facilities and teams, it’s important that you balance your time and focus. I’m currently morphing my past solvent from list making, into more of a time chart. This will allow me to focus on certain areas of the company at certain times of the day. I want to break these segments into 20 to 30 minute time gaps in order to devote a high level of focus. After each segment I want to schedule time to let my mind rest and recharge before I move on to the next segment.

My balancing has become the mental sprint. In the struggle I’m continuously trying to better who I am and how I operate. I continually analyze myself and reach for greatness. Although this can become overwhelming, it’s that desire for balance that pushes me to develop new life systems that help me get through every day, and manage our brands for day-to-day and future growth.

The struggle is real, and it is a constant battle. Let me know about your struggle, how you manage life and work balance. One of the best ways to grow is through each other. I look forward to hearing from you.

Tyler Montgomery is the Editor-in-Chief of Club Solutions Magazine. For thoughts on his blog, the print issue or the industry, reach out to him at tyler@peakemedia.com.