5 Tips to Stay Fit While Working at a Creative Agency

As you know if you’ve been reading my blog for the past few months, it took me a while to get settled into my new routine. My hours are much longer than at any other previous job, and working in a client-facing job is also different from every other in-house job I’ve had before.

I love hearing about how other people manage to fit fitness into their routines, and I remembered that MK, who has a very similar job to me, doing social media at a firm called Turner PR (which has, hands-down, been one of the best firms I’ve dealt with through blogging) ran a half-marathon a few months ago. (In fact, I wrote some tips for their blog a few months back about some pre-half-marathon tips.) I knew that having a client-facing job in social media means that she’s facing some of the same struggles as me, and I wanted to hear how she manages to stay on top of both her work and her workouts.

Back to back client meetings.

Prepare for a work trip next week.

Deliver status report.

Tweet this event.

Grow Facebook channels by 300 this week.

Online and dialed in 24/7.

Is it really already 5:00? Then you start backtracking all the items left uncrossed on your to-do list for the day. Looks like the workout will have to wait until tomorrow. On your commute home, you think “Does it ever stop?”

Well, the truth is it never really stops it’s just a matter of setting personal fitness boundaries and priorities that provide stability when your days are influx. When it comes to agency life, there is never a dull moment or lack of something to do. In fact, that’s why the multi dimensional and energizing environment of a creative agency attracts active people. Whether you crank out a solid and sweaty workout or land that big client after weeks of pushing through goals and deadlines, there is an addicting adrenaline rush that comes from each.

As a social media community manager at Turner PR, over time, I have come to realize that I love my career because it’s unpredictable. But in order to take on each day with a fresh perspective and creative eye my workout routine needs to be a constant. Especially with clients like, Travaasa , Filson and Park Hyatt Beaver Creek it’s important to live and breathe the active and wellness way of life.

So the question is, where do I find the “me” time? Everyone has a different definition of what “me” time means to them, but for me it’s finding time to be active and workout. It seems that just a quick sweat session can turn a day right side up. This in turn, creates a happiness and ability to run away from the day–literally–and start tomorrow fresh with a new day of deadlines, back to back client meetings and to-do lists.

My five tips for squeezing in workouts and staying fit while working at a creative agency.

1. Make time: If you are like me or any of my colleagues, there is an outlook calendar appointment for everything. We’re talking everything! At times it can get a bit excessive, but my thoughts are this, while you’re scheduling that client meeting you might as well throw in your workout, too. When you see “Long Run 6:45” popping up constantly on your calendar you time chunk and prioritize to make it happen. Don’t push snooze on this one.

2. Capitalize on your lunchtime: I know you are probably thinking, lunchtime? What lunch? Even if you keep it healthy by packing a lunch to work, take a time out from the computer screen even if you can only squeeze in 30 minutes. Walk to the furthest coffee shop down the street. You know those stairs you never take walk or run up them. Finding time to get out during the day and get the blood pumping will help jumpstart your metabolism and hopefully get you motivated for strength training in the evening.

3. Register for a half marathon: Call me crazy, but the moment I signed up for 13.1 miles I wasn’t choosing the couch over the treadmill or pavement. The date of race day can’t be changed so I altered my lifestyle by prioritizing workouts and runs. When I ran my first half marathon I found time in the morning before work to get out a quick training run.

[Theodora note: I <3 NYC, but I’m pretty sure I’d be a little more relaxed if I got to see things like this all the time.]

4. Practice your flow: You know those days when you feel like you haven’t taken a breath? I find my breath with yoga. When I am in the yoga studio, nothing else matters. I love the classes like Yoga Sculpt at Corepower Yoga, that have it all incorporating weights, cardio and flow all into one hour.

5. Own the weekends: We all like to sleep in on Saturday especially after those long weeks. I find it most revitalizing to carve out two hours on Saturday and Sunday to put in my longer workouts whether it’s a run and weights or a basketball game at the park. Come Monday, I am ready to put more workouts in my calendar.