5 Tips to Balance Remote Work with a Sports Career
Double life: How to work from home while being a full-time athlete, or working on another passion
Living the life of an athlete was a dream coming true for me. It came a little bit later than for others. In my 30s, after I got my Ph.D. and concluded my kung fu competitive career, I jumped into MMA fighting. I already have been training and fighting for years, but only then I prioritized my sport over everything else. Even though I have a little regret that I have not done it sooner, becoming a full-time athlete was the best thing I have ever done. I was never happier.
I live in Thailand and usually train twice per day. I do not live out of my family's support or sponsorships. I work part-time. Making this happen was a long-term plan. Here is what I did:
1. Changing my job industry
I got degrees in Social Education and my Ph.D. in Sports Psychology. I worked on some cool educational projects at the university. Although my last teaching job at the uni was part-time only, it was not flexible enough. As an athlete, you will need a lot of flexibility. I slowly maneuvered myself into marketing.
I first took a job at the crossroad of what I did: I worked for an educational company on their website, social media, communications, etc. Thanks to their trust, I learned a lot. I then had a few jobs in social media, which I believe is one of those industries that fit us, athletes, well. Eventually, through marketing, I became an event manager in the blockchain industry.
2. Time management is everything
I cannot highlight this enough. Training and work are both very time-consuming activities, and you need to do both. Part-time is the way. Still, you will need to be very strict with your schedule. Every Sunday, I sit down and plan my training sessions and my work sessions. It is a must and without it, all would fall apart.
Sometimes, you will need to prioritize. If I have an important call, I would move my training or skip it, or find a way, such as doing a solo workout instead. If I am getting meetings invites, I am the first one to suggest the timing so I can control my schedule.
3. Meetings, your new evening program
Most probably you will need to talk to other human beings. Scheduling meetings and calls can be very tricky when you are trying to balance your daily program. I have defined the hours of the day when I know 100% I will not be training.
In other cases, I take the calls at night. Especially when I talk to the US time zone people, they are always flattered I took the extra steps in meeting them at a convenient time for them. Sacrificing your free time is your new bread and butter!
4. Rest
I train twice per day, and most of my peers sleep in between the sessions. Sleep is the best recovery tool. If you work, the chances are, you will need to cut your daytime nap.
It is said that the best napping time is any way around 30mins. Use that information to give yourself a pep talk while opening your spreadsheets instead of your bed sheets.
I usually work before my first training session and in between them. Sometimes I add some hours during the night. In the beginning, it was difficult. I was exhausted after my session. But then my body got used to the schedule and my mind welcomed work. After training muscles, it is refreshing to do something different and think about other topics. Solving problems is in my opinion another great recovery tool!
5. I am not angry! I am just hungry. Working while competing and weight cutting.
A special chapter for fighters is the fight week and diet. I need to be aware of this because the chances are that I may get easily triggered.
Fight week is all about concentration and tapering into the big performance day. I still work as usual, but I try to postpone meetings that are not urgent. I warn my colleagues that I am not angry with them, and they usually find it amusing and cheer me on my fight career. Some of them even watch my fight videos!
In case I need to travel, I schedule ahead of when and where I can work. Waiting hours at the airport? Your new office!
Disadvantages and benefits of working while training
Is it worth it when you have to/want to work while training full-time? Totally.
Is it difficult? Hell yeah.
To list the disadvantages of working, let’s start with the time limitations. You cannot just train all day long and hang out with your peers after training and chill. You will have additional stress sources. And juggling your daily and weekly schedule will be a puzzle.
On the other hand, for advantages, you are not dependent on any sponsorships and you are free to invest your money into better training (such as private sessions with your coach) or nutrition. You cannot train all day long anyway and I believe that making your brain busy is only beneficial to you. I also see having more social circles and roles as only healthy - you can always lean on one or the other in difficult times.
And finally, if you like your job and want to be an athlete, too— or if you wish to take a dream job while being an athlete — go for it! Make yourself happy. It won’t be easy, but none of the good things are.
