Working as the sports nutritionist for Team Dimension Data professional mens cycling team, starting my private practice, taking part at the Giro d’Italia and collecting all of my Professional Doctorate data at the UCI World Cycling Championships in Harrogate…. 2019 has been an intense whirlwind. Here's 3 key life lessons I've learnt this year.

Travelling constantly is exhausting - build space for rest

This year I was on the road a lot.

I love travel but some of my self created schedules were exhausting and border line burned me out.

I’ve realised that when I travel, I need to build in a buffer.

Rather than rocking up at the airport with minutes to spare, I’ve realised that getting there an hour (or two) earlier is a lot less stressful than being in transit not knowing if you’ll make it on time.

I’ve also found that it can take a few days to get back into a ‘normal routine’ so I need to account for that, block off those days in advance and expect less of what is achieved during that transition period.

Lesson: Minimise unnecessary travel and build a buffer around it to minimise unnecessary stress

Consider what the cost of saying YES is

I have been lucky to have had many opportunities come my way, especially when it comes to my career.

Historically I would say yes to everything - usually at the expense of my sleep, health, time with friends or partner.

Rather than automatically saying YES straight away, I have started to be a bit more intentional and thinking more about the cost implications and whether the trade off is worth it.

Lesson: Every opportunity I say YES to comes at a cost. Is that cost worth it?

Protect your energy

I am a naturally very high energy person.

BUT, if I overload my schedule, commit to too many things, don’t get enough sleep or exercise then I lose that energy.

Despite cutting down on some of my commitments from previous years, there have been too many things on my plate this year, again leaving me borderline burnt out…. when will we learn?

Next year I want to build more space into my life, to take the trips to the beach, to go for the bike ride rather than waiting for after this or that to be finished.

Essentially do all the things I love to do that give me energy, that I say I don’t have time for because of other commitments.

Lesson: Make time to live in the moment and do more things that build up my energy levels.

What do I plan to change in 2020?

In particular, my aim for 2020 is to become more intentional with my time. I am aiming to complete my Professional Doctorate within the next 12 months, so in order to achieve that I will require a lot of discipline, focus and TIME.

So much time!

My time management skills are always improving, and part of this is by blocking off space to breathe, do less and live in the now, rather than living for the future after this or that.

What about you? What have you learnt this year?

Gemma

Three life lessons from 2019

Travelling constantly is exhausting - build space for rest

Consider what the cost of saying YES is

Protect your energy

What do I plan to change in 2020?