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So much for life balance.

Although difficult, I’m inching towards the long term goal of doing what I love while having financial freedom and some free time to do things outside of work. I’ve heard that one of the biggest problems facing start-up business owners is burn-out. Although I don’t feel anywhere close to this I can see how easy it could happen if someone lost sight of the progress being made. The financial, time, and emotional investment of pursuing something as all-consuming as a start-up business could easily become overwhelming. I’ve found it helps to make sure you learn from the inevitable mistakes while focusing on the progress being made.

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This is especially important considering that both myself and the business are completely new to NC and we started with no existing clients or local connections. So while I strive to build the business through word of mouth, it’s been important to make sure I’m a walking billboard wherever I go. Because you can’t spread the word if you don’t first have the mouths.

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For the past 3 months I’ve had at least two days a week where I’ve been starting my day at 5am (for a 5:45 training session at Athletic Lab) and not leaving the training center until 9 (or later). We’re open 7 days a week and most weeks and I’d guestimate that my weekly work hours are approaching and sometimes exceeding triple digits. I’m handling it ok but I don’t want it to stay like this forever. Thankfully my wife and daughter come in to the center several days a week so I’m able to see them even while I’m working (and my wife helps out!).

The business is at a place where it’s still beneficial for me to do almost everything myself. But things have been picking up pretty steadily. And at an increasing rate. If there’s such a thing as a tipping point for a business I think we’re quickly approaching it.

All this is giving me reason to consider if the next step for the business is to hire someone to help. I have some great assistants now who are all either working in an intern capacity or sweat-equity barter in exchange for training at Athletic Lab. And we get at least 20 unsolicited applications for employement or internship every month. This is a luxury of a growing business in a still sinking economy.

So the time is coming. It will surely be an expense that may take a month or more to pay off but at our current rate of growth it’s likely an investment in future growth that needs to be made. Not only that but it will afford me some more time to spend working on my business rather than mostly in it and will allow me to have more than a free day or two each month. It’s a nice crossroads to be at.

Keeping focused on the good helped.

Lesson learned: Remember with the ups come the downs. Without Ying there is no Yang. If everything was great all the time we’d never be able to appreciate it.

One of the things that I most enjoyed about working at a place like the US Military Academy was the people I was able to meet and develop relationships. I also had many good friends from my youth who have moved very far away. I was concerned that after moving for the 3rd time in as many years that these relationships might be lost so it’s nice to be able to keep in touch and see these people.

As the world becomes more open and people relocate to different cities, states and even countries, there’s nothing better than being able to see old friends.

Just because you’re stuck in line at the DMV or airport, waiting to pick someone up or be picked up, or in grid locked traffic doesn’t mean the time has to be wasted. Find something productive to do. We’ve all got dozens of menial tasks that don’t take long individually and are easy to put off because they seem so small. The problem is that those little things can quickly add up and collectively they can really become something that would take a huge chunk of time. If you’re someone who has lots to do and gets frustrated by wasted down time, don’t fear, there’s hope. The key is to take care of the little things whenever you get a free moment so they don’t accumulate in to an unmanageable task.

If you have a smartphone, don’t waste its power playing games. Unwaste your wasted time by answering emails, updating your calendar, or brainmapping what you need to do. And even if you don’t have a smartphone (what busy person doesn’t though?) or you temporarily lost it (as I tend to do about once a week) consider getting a moleskine or other similarly handy notebook (not the laptop kind…the old school notebook kind). I find my moleskine to be great for list keeping, writing out blogs when away from a computer, or outlining tasks. In fact, I actually find the blank page of a moleskine to be far less restrictive and void of the many distractions of a computer. They are great for jotting things down as they come to you.

You can also use the time to make and return phone calls. I’m actually pretty terrible at connecting via phone because I’m training people for most of the day and I try not to answer or make calls during face-to-face meetings or when I’m training someone. So whenever I find myself with a couple minutes to spare I’m on the phone catching up on my voicemails and missed calls.

Finally, here’s some advice on getting things done on flights. Don’t let the cramped seating, dry air and absence of wifi or power slow down your productivity train. I make the habit of answering emails on my iPhone right up until they close the cabin doors of the jet (and sometimes later if I feel like tolerating the glare of people who believe the airline perpetuated myth that leaving your phone on during flight is some kind of danger). Then during the 5-15 minutes at the beginning and end of the flight when all electronics are supposed to be turned off, I pull out my trusty moleskine or read the latest sport science research article I’ve printed in hard copy to take with me. If I know I’ll have at least a 15 minute window during the middle of the flight where ‘use of electronics is approved’ I’ll pull out my laptop. In fact, in the 3 years after I left my doctoral studies at LSU (prior to completing my dissertation) to take a job coaching at Army, the only time I could ever find to work on my doctoral dissertation between 50+ hours a week of Army responsibilities and another 30+ to run my company, was on the flights I would take 4-6 times per month. While these 10-20 minute blocks of time didn’t amount to much individually, the work accomplished quickly added up and I finished my dissertation shortly after resigning from my job at Army.

Which brings me to quote that was recently featured on Athletic Lab’s wipeboard:

If you can move a grain of sand a day; eventually you will move a mountain.

If you make the most of what might otherwise seem like wasted time you’ll easily find yourself more productive than ever.

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