Our gym trainer Tori unpacks her top tips for balancing work, life and movement – no matter what comes her way.
Rest is productive
As someone who loves being busy, ‘rest’ once felt like a luxury, not a necessity. Rather than treating my day like I would a gym session—with periods of pause and recovery—I sprinted hard. I worked long hours, took on more responsibility, and said ‘yes’ to everyone and every opportunity that came my way. And then, I crashed.
From breakouts to breakdowns, my desire to be productive turned toxic. If I didn’t change, I was going to continue to run myself into the ground.
Hustle culture can create this perception that we need to equate output with self-worth, and rest with laziness. And for a girl who loves her sleep, I couldn’t have that.
After a lot of time and introspection, I have now come to appreciate rest for what it truly is: a powerful, restorative tool that not only helps me feel my best but allows me to be my best. Just like giving my legs a day off after working them hard, or spending some time alone to decompress after a social event – giving your mind and body time to unwind is anything but unproductive.
Work smarter, not harder
As someone who can often get a bit frazzled and stressed when things don’t go to plan, having the right tools in place to help me manage my time and energy is a must.
Being your classic type-A personality: organisation is my love language. So you can usually find me looking at my Google Calendar, Google Tasks and Notion on the daily. Having some structure and visibility over what I need to do, where I need to be and what’s coming up, helps me to prioritise my time efficiently, so I don’t go into a stress spin. Oh, and friends. My friends are my constant sounding board, forever in my head and in my DMs.
Listen to your body, and your mind
I love working, I love going out and I love trying new things. Unfortunately, my body does not love it when I burn the candle at both ends trying to have it all.
Whenever my mind rushes to say ‘yes’, I stop to see how my body actually feels first. My energy levels, self-talk, mood and even my appetite, can give me a pretty good indication as to what my mind and body and more often than not, they’re saying: go outside, get to bed early and eat some chocolate.
Remember who and what brings you joy
Let’s be real: life isn’t all about work. It’s about the stuff around it. The people. The dogs. The coffee. In short: whatever lights up your fuse box. Making time to connect to the people, places and experiences that make us feel our best, is so important.
From giving us a sense of connection and support, to informing how we process the hard days, see the world, learn and grow up. Whatever it is that brings you joy, make time for it. Even a few minutes a day can make the world of difference to how you feel and move through the rest of your week.
