This week I finally got ahead of my workload! It took working on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, but the relief of having a nearly-empty “in-box” and a handle on my to-do list was worth it. Getting my life back into balance feels so good–even if that balance swings up and down from day to day.
I still need to tackle the items on the left, but I know what to do with them.
(Compare to my before picture)
Work-Life Balance
My “balanced” work week included working a full day on the holiday, working until 9:00 pm on Tuesday, working at home on Wednesday, working until 7:30 pm on Thursday, and leaving the office at 3:00 pm Friday but then working at home after dinner until 10 pm to wrap up the loose ends that came unraveled during the day.
On the other side of the see-saw, our son came over for dinner on Wednesday, Thursday I made it home in the nick of time to catch the first scene of the Station 19-Gray’s Anatomy cross-over show, and on Friday I got the battery replaced in my 2.5 year old iPhone 6SE. That only cost $49, but the $350 I spent shopping while waiting on the repair made the whole endeavor a bit more expensive. 🙂
When I asked the technician his tips for maximizing battery life, he suggested powering off the phone for a while every day–or at least once a week–such as overnight. I explained that would be hard since I use it as my alarm. He said he does it on days he doesn’t set an alarm. …. Um, I don’t have ANY days like that. Even on weekends my alarm is set for 6 am, so I can get my workout in early or walk Scooby and enjoy a leisurely breakfast before church. Does that mean my life is out of balance or just full?
Workout Balance
Speaking of balance, I was poking around my Garmin data and found the typical heart rate data for my different workouts to be pretty interesting.
Running still feels easier than Cyclebar!
The running data is from a typical dark o’clock run with Scooby. The cycling data is from a typical ride on the bike path. The indoor cycling data is from a typical Cyclebar class. The Orangetheory data is from a typical 3G (three group) class, with a warm-up on the rower and ~15 min at each station (rower/floor/treadmill). If I tracked them, the data for strength workouts and yoga would be all Zone 1. Overall, I think the data show that even if I workout every day, the intensity varies greatly.
Weekly Run Down
My workout schedule was back to its usual balance this week too!
Monday: Strength workout
I wasn’t in any rush to get to work, so I took my time with my strength workout and finished with lots of stretching and foam rolling.
My Smartwool socks kept my toes warm in our cold basement!
Tuesday: Cyclebar
I hadn’t been to Aimee’s class in 6 weeks, but, yes, Aimee, I do remember how to set up my bike. 😛
Wednesday: 5.3 Frigid Scooby Miles
I had plenty of time for a run before my 10 am meeting, but had convinced myself 25F was too cold to run without sunshine. That excuse faded when I saw women in my MRTT group planning frigid dark o’clock runs. That excuse vanished when I felt fine on my run. I wore a hat instead of just a headband, and a jacket instead of a vest, and felt pretty good–although my bum could have used another layer.
Look, Ma! I’m stretching!
Thursday: Corepower Yoga
I hadn’t been to yoga since January 2, and I picked a great class to be back for. We did lots of hip-opening moves as we focused on the sacral shakra. I struggled with Peacock pose (our peak pose) but got into a precursor of Flying Pigeon (going from a standing Figure Four into a bent leg Crow) and had fun playing.
Radiate Joy was a great affirmaton to take off the mat after such a great class.
Friday: Orangetheory fitness
I couldn’t get any splat points on the rower, but any “easy” in the workout was wiped away by the dumbbell-burpee-bicep curls we did during the floor block! The pattern for the treadmill block was tough too, with push pace incline intervals.
Saturday: Cyclebar
A rainy Saturday morning had me at Cyclebar again, and I really love Stephanie’s classes. This week’s playlist had a Taylor Swift v. Tiesto theme and the ride had a great mix of challenging “hills” (resistance) and sprints.
Sunday: 8 sunny Scooby Miles
My right glute has been telling my I overdid it with all the glute exercises recently, so I plotted the flattest route I could think of. It follows a busy road and is very un-scenic, but the sight of Scooby’s ears always make me smile.
Thanks to my new iPhone battery, I was able to take a mid-run photo and still listen to my playlist the rest of the way home.
Next Saturday is February 1st, which means its time for the February Ultimate Coffee Date already! Deborah and I will open the (link-up) doors on Friday and keep the coffee brewing all weekend.
Thanks to Deborah and Kim for the Weekly Run Down link up
–join in for motivation and encouragement!
Do you set an alarm on weekends?
Have you ever had your phone battery replaced?
![The Ultimate Coffee Date](http://got2run4me.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Ultimate-Coffee-Date.png" "The Ultimate Coffee Date")
I just had my battery replaced for my iPhone 6s last month and it costed me about the same. But it was well worth it. That’s a good tip with switching the phone off. And yes, I set my alarm on the weekends as well! Your life is not out of balance, I think! 😊
He said turning it off helps all the software and hardware reset. I’m bad at turing off my laptop too – or impatient turning it on!
And my son is complaining about his iPhone 7! LOL. Glad to see that your work is settling down. In all the time I’ve been following you, I don’t remember you ever working that much!
My son will be disappointed I didn’t just buy the 11, but I am holding on to my small phone for as long as I can!
Interesting advice about saving battery. So glad you got out from under that ginormous workload! Scooby has the best ears!
There are so many tips out there, but who know what really works!
I’m sorry that you had to work on MLK Day, but glad that you feel that things are more balanced at work now. I’m probably going to end up doing some work next weekend because I also feel like my project list and inbox is out of control, and it’s not a great feeling 🙁
Interesting tip about the iPhone battery life. Like you, I have an alarm everyday so I can’t shut it off overnight but I can turn it off during the day for a few hours. I may start doing that.
I need to figure out a good time to do that too—maybe when I first get to work. Working on a holiday has the upside of beign able to work without interruptionsor distractions.
So cool that Scooby can stay with you for EIGHT miles! It must be so nice to have a 4-legged running partner. I love the “radiate joy” affirmation from your yoga class. I am going to have to remember that one! I need it sometimes.
I think we will both max out at 8 miles, although he was pulling for our fastest mile during mile 8 — because the squirells were out by then!
The battery on my Iphone 11 is fantastic I use it all day and never have to charge it all until I go to bed. You must be eligible for an upgrade? Hope your work schedule slows down a bit!
I’m not eager to give up my small phone. Or spend the $$$. I know the time is coming ….
I had heard that about saving the battery life, but have never tried it (I think?). And I thought my week was busy…I humbly concede to you 🙂 Glad you were able to get back into a routine. Scooby’s ears…so cute!
We want our phones to last, but we don’t want to turn them off for a few minutes!
Big week for Scooby 🙂 He is such a good little runner.
Haha, who doesn’t have an alarm every day? I guess sometimes I sleep in on Sundays, but the puppies want to eat by at least 6 am every day.
Yeah, Scooby won’t let me sleep much past 6 either — or earlier when it’s light earlier!
High five on your inbox and on the new battery. I finally upgraded my 6 to a refurbished 8 for more storage space. Cheap phones FTW!
Wow! I have tons of storage space, even with 3000+ photos — which I need to cull!
I set an alarm on my phone every day too! I don’t think I would want to sleep all night with my phone turned off. Would it help to even just turn it off for an hour at some point during the day? I haven’t had issues with my battery and I had no idea it was recommended to turn off your phone regularly.
Yay for finding balance again (even if it’s a “full” kind of balance!) You’ve really ploughed through those files!
I don’t need an alarm (and luckily don’t work a typical job), so yup, I turn my phone off completely at night (except when something’s going on, I did leave it on 24/7 while I was at my moms, in case Mr. Judy had to get ahold of me for some odd reason).
My phone is also an iphone 6. I paid the same for a battery last year. Luckily I did not spend that much shopping while waiting, LOL!
Scooby’s ears are adorable. We always get a laugh when one of Bandit’s gets stuck in an upright position.
A strong week, Coco! That always be working thing must be a lawyer thing. My Dad was a patent attorney, and my brother is a labor relations attorney. They were/are both always working. I could never do it!
Hi, Scooby! His ears are perfection!
You got in a great variety of workouts this week! Well done!
I haven’t set an alarm in months. I haven’t slept well since the accident so I have permission to not get up in the mornings 🙂 I’ve never had the battery on my phone replaced.
Nice variety of workouts this week! And yay for more balance 🙂 I need my alarm every morning too. I hadn’t heard that about turning the phone off for a while to help with battery life. Maybe that’s something I can try for a couple hours while I’m at my desk during work…
I’m amazed that your iPhone 6 is still cranking along – glad the battery replacement did the trick. Interesting tip about shutting the phone off – sadly I don’t think I ever turn my phone off.
Sorry you worked on MLK Day, but I bet it feels great to have that looming tower of paper under control!
I reduced my hours at work last week for the same thing. I need order in my life. So awesome you recognized it and making positive changes.
I loved my iPhone 6. It was so handy…the recent models are so bulky. Instant regret after the switch.
I set my alarm only on Saturday when I do my long run. During the summer I wanted to be outside as early as possible because of the heat. I’ve never had a problem with my battery but that is an interesting tip to turn the phone off. I would be reluctant to turn it off at night but could do it during the day.