Moving To An Island – Part 4

How many times have you relocated in your life? 

As you might know, we are living between two worlds right now and it is slowly wearing us down. The constant ‘packing up one place to reach the other’ and vice versa costs a lot of time and energy.

I think everyone who has packed up and left can probably relate – it’s never as quick and easy as you imagine it to be but sometimes absolutely necessary!

With all the work piling up on our land and maintaining a full client- and class schedule, I came to the realization that we are stretching ourselves too thin. I have to balance burning my client’s calories as well as preventing burning out myself.

Burnout Sneaks Up On You

Starting something new on the land feels similar to being a ‘new’ trainer: 

Every time you start something new, it seems hard at first. For example, being new in the fitness industry, you lack experience. You try everything possible to get as much knowledge as fast as you can. You might agree to shadow other trainers, take on every shift you can and read endless books but eventually, you will fatigue because you over-schedule yourself.

Similarly as a new land owner, I lack the knowledge to build efficiently which means everything takes much more energy out of me. Work, maintaining private- and client relationships and coordinating between two different locations is exhausting. Learning new things is time consuming. Being a beginner at anything is hard. 

Whether it’s due to moving, being new in the fitness industry or anything that requires you to get out of your comfort zone, we run the risk of not setting healthy boundaries. In other words, we can’t maintain our own energy levels (to be our best selves) when we spend more than we have. Sometimes, we just don’t notice that we are running low until it’s too late. 

One thing I find helpful to prevent burnout, is to periodically check in with myself and find out how I’m doing. I take a few minutes and ‘scan’ my body for tightness, pain or discomfort. 

Give it a try! – Some signs of burnout are subtle and may be that you are fatigued all day but not tired at night. Maybe you feel irritable and lose patience more often or maybe you just feel constantly overwhelmed. Whatever the symptoms may be for you, take a step back and see what you can change about your situation. 

For us, it was clear that we needed to move full-time and focus on building or lives on the island. Surprisingly, the necessary change came faster than expected.

Thanks to a serendipitous coincident, we have the opportunity to move full-time in a few months already. We have a lot of plans to put into reality and our lovely neighbours offered us to stay in a fully finished cabin while we do so. 

Finding Balance Is Key

Moving is the first step to inviting more balance back into our lives. We had to make some tough decisions, like leaving almost everything behind in order to start fresh. But hopefully we make enough progress over the next few months, that we can invite friends over for small retreats by the end of the summer. 

Maintaining healthy boundaries (by noticing that you can’t sustain your lifestyle anymore) is crucial to your own well-being. You can only fully be there for your clients if you show up for yourself first. 

How do you recharge your energy to prevent burnout? Leave a comment below.

Jessi Schlegel

Jessi Schlegel is a fitness trainer and educator. She draws from a versatile background with a degree in Sports Therapy from Germany and in-the-field business experience as co-owner of a gym in Vancouver (Canada). She currently works as a Personal Trainer, Group Class Instructor, Yoga Instructor, Holistic Nutritionist and Online Coach. With over 18 years of experience, she aims to pass on knowledge and share her passion and experiences with clients and trainers around theworld.