As moms and entrepreneurs, we’re constantly balancing a thousand priorities. It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking we can always give 110% to everything. But that’s not sustainable.
Hate to break it to ya, but: You can’t do everything at the same level all the time.
That’s something I learned firsthand from my time as a competitive powerlifter.
Health, fitness, and performance are constants in my life, and the principles that apply to my training have completely changed how I approach business — and they can change yours too!
What Powerlifting Taught Me About Business
If you’ve ever worked with me, followed along with my story, or listened to my approach to coaching, you can probably guess that I’m passionate about taking action — and finding practical ways to make things happen.
So, a lot of times, I find myself running parallels between the lessons I've learned as a competitive powerlifter and a fitness coach with other things.
In my years as a competitive powerlifter, one of the most effective things I learned about managing energy and effort is periodization.
So, what Is Periodization?
At its core, periodization is about structured phases of focus. Athletes use it to cycle through periods of intensity and recovery, each building on the last to maximize performance over time.
In training, there are times when you are pushing, whether your volume or the weight itself and the heaviness of what you're carrying. Then there are days where you’re allowing the muscles to rest (which is actually strengthening them during this time too, believe it or not).
In business, it looks the same: we have periods of time where we are pushing, but so often when we’re teetering on the edge of burnout, we don’t remember to pull ourselves back.
Just like in training, where you can’t lift at 90% of your max every day, your business also needs cycles of push and pull to thrive.
This is why in any good training program, you have rest days or recovery days. And so we need to apply the same to our business.
And that is what periodization is…It’s not about going all-out 24/7/. It’s about being intentional with when and where you’re giving your best effort.
Why You Need Prioritization in Your Business
If we were to step back and look at the hierarchy of things, our happiness, our fulfillment, and the memories we're able to make with our children and with our families are some of the most important things to us.
You don't want to reach the end of your life and look back and think, “Man, I made a lot of money and I didn't enjoy it. And I don't have good memories with my family or look at all the moments that I missed.”
I don't think that when we get to the end of our days, we will ever look back and regret putting things in place that gave us an enjoyable life. What we would regret is thinking about how we spent so much time working to create more and make more money instead of putting the things in place that create more money, impact AND happiness.
Applying Periodization to Your Business
There are a few ways I’ve applied periodization in my own business to maintain work-life balance, even while adding three kids to our family.
I want to share these with you specifically so you can implement them in your business. By creating a periodization model, you’ll not only achieve greater balance and more enjoyment in your life, but you'll also set yourself up for continued success.
1. Track Your Capacity
In the early days of entrepreneurship, it’s all about bringing in as many sales as possible to replace your full-time income or secure your financial foundation. This "push" period is heavier in the beginning, but there comes a time when things start to work.
Your client base grows, your messaging is clearer, and you’re starting to see results. However, even at this stage, you need to ask yourself: What can you truly handle?
If you are a service-based business owner, you need to know how many services can you deliver at a time.
How many meetings can you take on per week? Per month? Per quarter?
You need to know when you're full, when you're gonna be out of time, when you're gonna be out of energy, and figure that out so when you get to capacity, you know when to slow down and avoid burnout.
Part of this is determined by your emotions and your energy, and then part of it is determined simply by your time and what you are willing to give in a place that still allows you to show up for your family.
2. Schedule Your Rest and Time Off
We know our schedules for when we're working, but we don't have a schedule for when we're NOT working.
Many entrepreneurs, especially moms, overlook the importance of planning for rest. Scheduling time off is just as critical as scheduling work.
I’ve pulled up my kids’ school calendar, I’ve pulled up any events, all of my calendars, I’m pulling them up, and I’m marking off weeks, Christmas break, that my kids are home, spring break, anything like that, I’m marking off times where I’m going to be off work so that I can plan around that.
Planning time off in advance ensures that you aren’t left scrambling for a break at the end of the year. It helps you stay intentional about your boundaries and create space for family, self-care, and rest.
3. Schedule Your Push Periods
Business is like interval training; There are times when we push and times when we pull back.
Periodization balances both knowing when to rest and when to give your business an extra push.
In powerlifting, I had to have a clear plan of how I was going to PR my lifts, which required me to have periods where I was adding more weight to the bar.
Usually my clients, depending on the industry, will operate on a quarterly push, whether they are pushing out a new product or service, or pushing a certain marketing channel for new lead acquisition.
Scheduling push periods lets you see what's possible, identify gaps, and adjust your efficiency. It’s during these times that you might need to take on more projects or push your capacity to test new limits.
“When you schedule when you're pulling back and resting and when you schedule when you're pushing, it becomes permission.”
4. Plan Ahead
We can't get stronger without a plan.
Planning is a must for making periodization work. Without a clear strategy, you’ll quickly overwhelm yourself.
I highly suggest laying out your entire year, marking off when you’ll push, when you’ll pull back, and what your highest priorities are.
Having a clear plan lets you step back and reassess your approach when things feel out of balance. By looking at your full plan ahead of time, you can prevent yourself from loading up your schedule with too many launches or tasks without taking the necessary breaks in between.
When you learn to track your capacity, schedule both your rest and push periods, and plan ahead, you can achieve the work-life balance you deserve as a mom entrepreneur.
If you're interested in learning more about how to apply these principles to your business and life, Join my FREE channel for mom entrepreneurs to gain REAL-TIME strategic insights and actionable advice to grow a profitable, sustainable business.
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