Occupational Health

Tools to Go From “Busy” to Productive

Intellectual Health, Occupational Health

“I’m so busy”

Do you find yourself saying that phrase often? Or how about “I’m so tired”?

I get it sister, we all feel that and that feeling is real. There’s no shortage of things on your to-do list and it’s constantly growing. Whether it’s the never ending battle with laundry or working your side-hustle so you can live your passion and be your own boss. You’re doing amazing things in this world but that comes at the expense of your sleep and sanity too often.

So I want to share a few time management tips that I’ve seen work not only in my life but in my student’s lives too. I’ve coached many yoga teachers who are working hard to build their business while also being a wife, sister, mother, partner, friend and so many other things.

As a wife, daughter, friend, step-mom and business owner myself I’ve learned the hard way on how to balance many things. And now I get asked on a weekly basis “Amanda, how in the world do you get it all done?”. Well friend, I’ve got you covered with these tips! Buckle up sister!

Know Your MIT

I’m not the first person to use this phrase but I’m not sure who to give credit to or else I would. But there isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t know my MIT = Most Important Task. This is the thing that has to get done or *things* will hit the fan. You know that thing. Maybe it’s sending an email, paying a bill or picking up your kiddo from school. It’s the thing that needs to get done, TODAY. I like to look at this in a few ways: daily and weekly. So if you’re working your side hustle and you want to make constant progress in your business, you might have a weekly MIT but you might work on smaller chunks each day. Make this work for you but know your MIT at least weekly.

Be Okay With The Minimum

This goes hand in hand with your MIT because sometimes you will get the minimum done. Yes, you want to do all the things and rock your day but we can’t do that every day. You will burn out if you go this hard. So we need to know what that minimum is that we need to get done but we also have to be okay (for real) when we can only do the minimum. And if you’re like me, you have to be really, really with yourself on this one. Because in my head the “minimum” usually includes the kitchen being clean, I’m at inbox zero and I’m in bed by 8pm. Let me tell you how many days this happens — not many. That’s not the minimum, that’s my ideal situation. So we need to be realistic with what the minimum is and really be okay with it when it happens. Heck, I would love to say celebrate it just like you would an ideal day!

Systems, Systems, Systems!

The best businesses I know have rock-solid systems in place to help with order and efficiency. Let’s learn from these businesses and put some systems in place for your time management.

First up…do you know how you’re truly spending your time? If you and I were talking and I asked you “how much time do you spend doing laundry?” or “how much time do you spend on your side hustle?” or “how much time do you spend on Facebook?”, would you know the answers? Be real now, would you really know? The answer for me was no for a while but I decided to change that and it made a BIG impact. I started tracking my time and it sure helped me waste less time. You can use an electronic time tracker (I use Toggl) or you can write this down on a piece of paper, it doesn’t need to be fancy. Track your time and it will tell you how to use it better, I promise.

The other system I would encourage you to use is planning your day. Whether it’s a paper or digital planner, you do you! But you need a system that works for you. One that I’ve seen work really well for most people is the 15 Minute Planner from Steph Crowder. I’ve learned a ton from her and actually hired her as my business coach last year. Check her out and use this quick 15 minute method to plan your week.

If you’re looking for a way to help you stay on track during your day, I would highly recommend an electronic task management system. I personally use Asana every work day (but I put my personal stuff on there too). There are other systems such as Trello, Monday and you can set up tasks in Google. Find what works for you and run with it, don’t worry about what other people are using. Use what works for you!

Make sure to check in with these systems as you move forward. Put a reminder on your calendar for 3 months from now to check in and see how these systems have helped you. You can only make progress and changes if you have a plan for evaluating them because it will encourage you to actually implement them.

Automate Everything You Can

Let’s talk about how cool it is that we live in a world where we can have groceries delivered to our house! For real, this is a game changer. I’ve tracked our families spending since we signed up for Shipt and we’ve actually saved money – even with tipping the incredible people who do the grocery shopping for us. I cannot rave about this enough but it’s not the only thing you can automate in your life. I would love to encourage you to look for ways you can automate things in your life and the amazing news is that they don’t all cost you a fortune! Some are more pricey than others but do what you can sister!

Automation Ideas:

Grocery shopping through Shipt
Dinner ideas from Hello Fresh or Freshly or any of the other companies out there! There are seriously so many incredible options.
Vacuuming using Roomba. Yes, I know it’s a pricey vacuum but how much time will it save you if it runs once a week or every other day? Think about it.
Deposit checks using your banking app. You don’t need to drive to the bank my friend, save the time and download the app.
Bundle your errands in one trip. I know this isn’t automating but it will save you so much time. And bonus points if you can think ahead for your trip to town and only make right turns, no joke this saves time.
Set your coffee maker timer. There’s no reason for you to have to do this manually if you have a timer on your coffee maker. Use what you paid extra for!
Order pet food to be automatically delivered. Check with your vet, they have services for you! If your vet doesn’t have one, use Chewy. Set it and forget it.

Give Yourself Grace

You’re doing amazing things in this world. If you’re reading this article then you’re a driven woman who’s changing the world for the better, I 100% believe this. So give yourself some grace in this process dear friend. Remember that you’re doing the best you can with all that you have.

Stay connected with other women who are doing amazing things so you can be supported and you can support other women. Keep going sister, you got this!

Your cheerleader,

Amanda McKinney

About Amanda McKinney Amanda McKinney is a Marketing Coach with a passion for empowering yoga teachers to earn more money doing what they love. She does this through her podcast: Marketing Yoga With Confidence and Online Offerings. All of which focuses on building confidence and community with an extra dose of encouragement every step of the way. You can learn more from her on her podcast: Marketing Yoga with Confidence or on her website: https://www.marketingyogawithconfidence.com/ But her favorite place to be is Instagram so follow her @amandamckinneyyoga

Professionals Who Bridge the Gap in Women’s Health – Part 1

Intellectual Health, Occupational Health, Physical Health

What is a Certified Athletic Trainer and what do they do? What is a Physical Therapist and what do they do?

What about a Women’s Health Athletic Trainer? Pelvic Floor Physical Therapist?

All of these titles, professions and letters can get confusing, so let’s break down the professions of an Athletic Trainer and a Physical Therapist. Also, in Part 2 I will introduce the role and capacity of a Women’s Health Athletic Trainer and break down how two professions (Women’s Health ATCs/Pelvic Floor PTs) can work together to improve women’s health worldwide.

Here are a few basics definitions:

ATC/AT: Certified Athletic Trainer

LAT: Licensed Athletic Trainer

PT: Physical Therapist

PFPT: Pelvic Floor Physical Therapist

According to the National Athletic Training Association (NATA), an Athletic Trainer is defined as “Health care professionals who render service or treatment, under the direction of or in collaboration with a physician, in accordance with their education and training and the state’s statutes, rules, and regulations. As a part of the health care team, services provided by athletic trainers include primary care, injury and illness prevention, wellness promotion and education, emergent care, examination and clinical diagnosis, therapeutic intervention, and rehabilitation of injuries and medical conditions.”

Athletic Trainers are seen in various settings with examples including military, orthopedic clinics, performing arts, physical therapy departments, private practice and so much more. ATCs/LATs do more than just tape ankles; we are medical healthcare professionals who have the education to prevent, rehab, educate, and treat active population across the lifespan. (Myth busting: You don’t have to be an athlete to see an athletic trainer!)

According to the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA), a Physical Therapist is defined as “health care professionals who diagnose and treat individuals of all ages, from newborns to the very oldest, who have medical problems or other health-related conditions that limit their abilities to move and perform functional activities in their daily lives.” Physical Therapists are seen in hospitals, physical therapy departments, pediatrics, hospice services, private practices and more.

Now, there has been a lasting conflict between the physical therapist profession and athletic trainer profession. Turf wars, conflicting opinions and more. In some settings, we see this divide disappearing. PTs are able to send their patients to a knowledgeable AT in order to continue their patients healing and help them return to what they love. ATs are able to work with active population in a variety of settings, patients they believe need more narrowed and concentrated help can refer a patient back to a PT.

Stay tuned for part two on how these two professions can come together to change the dynamic of their professions, women’s health and bridge the gap in women’s health.

Resources:

http://www.nata.com

http://www.bls.gov

http://www.apta.org

Women Making History in Athletic Training

Occupational Health, Social Health

March is National Athletic Training Month as well as National Women’s History Month, so I thought I’d share a little of this woman’s history with athletic training. I have wanted to be an athletic trainer since I was a sophomore in high school. My mom had persuaded me to see that I was not going to be on the US women’s national soccer team because I got injured too often and let’s face it, I was no child prodigy. I spent a lot of time in the athletic training room doing rehabilitation for injuries, getting ice after practice or games, and soaking up everything. I got a good idea of what an athletic trainer did and their involvement in sports. When I sprained my MCL my sophomore year, I already knew what was wrong with me before I went to the doctor. I had done all the research, looked at the anatomy, read about the mechanism of injury. Needless to say, the doctor was impressed (toot toot!). While my story is my own, the context is not unique; many athletic trainers have the same origin story of being an athlete, being injured, and having their first experience with athletic training.

Athletic training is a catch-all profession; we are Jacks of all trades, MacGyver, artists, allied healthcare professionals. We are required to take a national certification exam to demonstrate competencies in evidence-based practice, prevention of injury, health promotion, clinical examination, acute care of injury and illness, therapeutic interventions, psychosocial strategies, health care administration, and professional development and responsibilities. Athletic training as a profession has been recognized by the American Medical Association since 1991. We work with people who move their bodies from age 5 to 105 in settings from schools and pro sports to the workplace. We are finding other places our skillset can serve all the time, like the military.

I currently work in the high school setting. It’s a small school and I know 90% of my athletes by name, even if they haven’t stepped foot in the athletic training facility. If you asked me what task I performed the most, it would be cleaning up blood and covering wounds. The second most common thing I do is listen when an athlete comes into my room after a tough day. Which is every day. Hellooooooo high school students.

Not every day is as easy as listening to kids and cleaning up a little blood. Some days I’m watching wrestling sitting on the edge of my seat praying that shoulder doesn’t dislocate. Some days I’m cradling an athlete’s head in my arms stabilizing their c-spine because they took a head-to-head hit and they can’t feel their legs. Some days my heart is breaking for my athlete who had their senior year taken from them because they tore their ACL. And some days I spend the entire afternoon doing paperwork and coming up with rehab programs. Our days are truly a box of chocolates. Athletic trainers are always expecting the worst, ready to take action when they happen, and there to feel the feels with the team whether they win state or lose a family member.

This unique relationship between athletic trainer and athlete brings trust and closeness. Being caretakers and having just about anything you could imagine in our human repair kits, many of the female variety athletic trainer report being called “mom.”

Women have become a large percentage of the population of NATA members; in fact, the 2018 count had women at 56% of members while in 1996 we only counted 44%. While we can only speculate, this shift is likely to come from increased exposure of athletic training to young female athletes, the increase of female athletes, and the ability of athletic trainers to work more “traditional” hours. We are also expanding and breaking the glass ceilings that seemed unattainable for so long. If you watched any TV around Super Bowl time this year, you probably saw a tablet commercial featuring Katie Sowers, the first female coach at the Super Bowl. She wasn’t the only female making a first at the Super Bowl; Laura McCabe provided care for the 49ers, Tiffany Morton and Julie Frymyer for the Chiefs These are huge positions of visibility that allow what seemed to be a dream for a child (or professional) to become a reality.

Women in athletic training are making huge strides across the nation. While we have never been discouraged to become athletic trainers, we have certainly met limitations. In 2010, women represented close to 50% of assistant, associate, or graduate assistant athletic trainers at the D1 level5. However, women held less than 20% of head athletic trainer positions. Those that did become head athletic trainers did so due to their persistence and strong leadership skills. We will always have work-life balance as an obstacle to the highest reaches of our profession, just as men do. However, until women can be universally supported in the prospect of having a family and a time-consuming head athletic position, we will not obtain an even split or majority of head positions.

Resources:

1. https://www.nata.org

2. https://www.nata.org/taxonomy/term/1349

3. https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2020/01/28/katie-sowers-super-bowl-coach/

4. https://www.khon2.com/sports/the-big-game/katie-sowers-not-the-only-woman-working-the-super-bowl/?fbclid=IwAR1_J72ScgtMRs3jVanBI_etUbXjjaQZSLPpuT-MmBgDG-JLlbHIQVGGwes

5. The Experiences of Female Athletic Trainers in the Role of Head Athletic Trainer. Journal of Athletic Training 2015; 50(1): 71-81. doi: 10.4085/1062-6050-49.3.50

Juggling Multiple Roles in Our Modern World

Mental Health, Occupational Health

Five years ago, I wrote a blog post about the sandwich generation, highlighting the stress that people—mostly women—feel when supporting both parents and children. As a mother with aging parents, I felt the squeeze of competing responsibilities between my children’s needs and parental needs, both mine and my husband’s. Burnout is a very real concept that many adults experience, particularly those who are juggling an unpaid role as caregiver along with the other roles in their life.(1) I’m not telling you about that article to toot my own horn; rather, I’m speaking of it to explain to you how wrong I was with what I wrote. A few years after posting it, I experienced my “aha” moment; it happened when I was chatting with a friend. You see, although she didn’t have children, she was still experiencing a similar level of burnout. I realized that, in only discussing a generational sandwich, I was taking women with no children completely out of the conversation.

Instead of framing it as burnout based on competing caregiver roles, which implies being a child and having children of your own, I now view it as the sandwich of roles, or the multi-role rolls. In my mind, there are two distinct challenges with role rivalry: the adult you versus the child you, and the public you versus the private you.

Adult You Vs. Child You

Even if you don’t have children, you are a child yourself. Someone conceived you, gave birth to you, and raised you into the adult you are today. If one or both of your parents are still alive, you’re an adult child. You’re also an adult, with your own adult life, interests, and responsibilities. Sometimes—often, for many of us—the demands of these two roles butt heads.

Of course you love your parent(s) and you want to be there for them in their golden years. I’m not here to question your commitment to your loved ones. I can tell you from personal experience, though, that helping your aging parents can shuffle you back into childhood behavioural patterns. Think about it: you’re dealing with grownup issues—medical requirements, housing needs, etc—with the people who raised you to be the grown up you are today. However, their exposure to your behaviour happened during your formative years, not now, as a fully-formed adult. They may unwittingly treat you as they did your child self, which can trigger you to respond as your child self, thus slipping into old behavior. If you have children of your own, it can be like having a second set of teenagers, and neither set listens to you. Fun stuff.

Public You Vs. Private You

If your parents are no longer with us, that is, you’re no longer playing the adult child role, there are still competing roles within your life. The list can include: employee or employer, spouse, sibling, parent, friend. I know I’m just scratching the surface with this list of potential roles, and you may have a few (or many!) others that I haven’t listed. It’s still a multitude of roles that also require you to commit your precious time and energy to them.

Whether you live to work or work to live, the biggest struggle for your time will be work-life balance. This tension includes the competing demands of:

home life being like a second job,
caregiving for aging loved ones and/or children of your own, and
not being able to completely unplug from work (email especially).(2)

Home versus work is a big one, overwhelming even the most resilient person when work commitments bleed into personal time. There’s only so much space on your plate, and trying to juggle these multiple roles may make you feel like a multigrain, multi-role roll being squished to its limits. Anyone who’s ever sent or received a work email outside of regular business hours can attest to the fact that technology can be both a burden and a boon to burnout.

“Home versus work is a big one, overwhelming even the most resilient person when work commitments bleed into personal time. There’s only so much space on your plate, and trying to juggle these multiple roles may make you feel like a multigrain, multi-role roll being squished to its limits. “ -Amanda Sterczyk MA, CPT

Telling people to “just unplug” is not realistic. You may need to stay connected for emergencies, in some cases online support groups offer respite and relief/encouragement, some people genuinely derive pleasure from being online (enjoy unwinding by catching up with friends and family in other cities), it’s a way to stay connected in our increasingly isolated existence (eg, many people move away from their childhood homes and families for work). Bottom line, different things work for different people.

I can’t tell you how to take care of your needs. What I can do is offer some possibilities, and share what has helped me. In essence, I learned to say no to others in order to say yes to myself:

I put my business on the shelf.
I took a part-time job.
I regularly pull back on social media.
At least once a week, I reassess my priorities.
When I’m feeling overwhelmed, I step back and take a break.
I go for walks.

If you’ve reached the end of your rope, the following list provides ideas to help you get back on track. (3)

Talk. Tell people around you that you’re struggling.
Outsource. Ask for help or hire someone to help.
Move. Physical activity will boost your mood.
Review and Reassess. Can you change jobs or change how you do your job?
Eat. What you put in your mouth can impact both your energy and your mood.

Life is complicated, and that’s not going to change. You do have the power to change how you approach life, and how you respond to it’s complications.

References:

Image source: Amanda Sterczyk

More about Amanda: Amanda Sterczyk is an international author and personal trainer based in Ottawa, Canada. In 2016, she founded The Move More Institute™, an initiative to promote healthy active living and teach individuals how to sneak exercise into their daily lives. Her slogan is “Move more, feel better.”

Check out her website at: https://www.amandasterczyk.com/?fbclid=IwAR3QZYcRpjV89I94Jlz4F2KeBvkte-rO69W90cYhZm-tG2XrbUkMdLusoUI

Check out her latest book!

Originally published: 1/6/2020

Juggling Multiple Roles in Our Modern World

Mental Health, Occupational Health

I’m not telling you about that article to toot my own horn; rather, I’m speaking of it to explain to you how wrong I was with what I wrote. A few years after posting it, I experienced my “aha” moment; it happened when I was chatting with a friend. You see, although she didn’t have children, she was still experiencing a similar level of burnout. I realized that, in only discussing a generational sandwich, I was taking women with no children completely out of the conversation.

Adult You Vs. Child You

Public You Vs. Private You

Whether you live to work or work to live, the biggest struggle for your time will be work-life balance. This tension includes the competing demands of:

home life being like a second job,
caregiving for aging loved ones and/or children of your own, and
not being able to completely unplug from work (email especially).(2)

“Home versus work is a big one, overwhelming even the most resilient person when work commitments bleed into personal time. There’s only so much space on your plate, and trying to juggle these multiple roles may make you feel like a multigrain, multi-role roll being squished to its limits. “

-Amanda Sterczyk MA, CPT

I can’t tell you how to take care of your needs. What I can do is offer some possibilities, and share what has helped me. In essence, I learned to say no to others in order to say yes to myself:

I put my business on the shelf.
I took a part-time job.
I regularly pull back on social media.
At least once a week, I reassess my priorities.
When I’m feeling overwhelmed, I step back and take a break.
I go for walks.

If you’ve reached the end of your rope, the following list provides ideas to help you get back on track. (3)

Talk. Tell people around you that you’re struggling.
Outsource. Ask for help or hire someone to help.
Move. Physical activity will boost your mood.
Review and Reassess. Can you change jobs or change how you do your job?
Eat. What you put in your mouth can impact both your energy and your mood.

Life is complicated, and that’s not going to change. You do have the power to change how you approach life, and how you respond to it’s complications.

References:

Check out her website at: https://www.amandasterczyk.com/?fbclid=IwAR3QZYcRpjV89I94Jlz4F2KeBvkte-rO69W90cYhZm-tG2XrbUkMdLusoUI Check out her latest book!

The Origin Story

Financial Health, Intellectual Health, Mental Health, Occupational Health, Physical Health, Sexual Health, Social Health, Spiritual Health

Everyone loves a good origin story, right? From superheroes, world leaders, actors, and to all the influencers of old, we can always trace their history back. So, here’s a Positively Balanced Origin Story: Why we are here today, and how we are bridging the gap in women’s health.

Positively Balanced was founded right when I graduated from undergraduate school. I knew I wanted to create something that meant we aren’t going to be positive all the time, but we can be hopeful for better days. I also wanted a statement that highlighted the aspect of balance in our lives that isn’t always perfectly balanced.

So Positively Balanced was born. For 3 years it was a way for me to share my position of health, fitness, education, class schedule and events. However, I knew Positively Balanced would be something bigger, I just didn’t know quite what it was yet.

A few events started to cause a shift in the direction of Positively Balanced. A friend came to me in search of information on infertility, another with questions about menopause, and then another about postpartum exercise and lifestyle. Each time, I had the same answer: “I’m not sure, but let me do some research on who might know and also how I can help. So my love for women’s health began. I enrolled in and attended courses and seminars. I read books and did the research.

As I did my deep dive into the works of women’s health, I began to notice a significant lack of knowledge, education, and resources for women.

There were some resources and some research; however there are still huge gaps in so many areas and aspects.

Then, I found out I was going to be having a baby and it took my love to new heights. I began to experience first hand the lack of support, lack of resources and knowledge and the consequences of such. It was like adding fuel to a fire.

This past year, I became so passionate, I shut my business down for 6 months just to focus on what it was I could actually do to make a difference. I graduated with my master’s degree and began working as a women’s health athletic trainer specializing in pre and postpartum health, as well as rehab performance exercise. I saw all types of patients, but my focus and study took me into the women’s health realm.

I realized that women’s health was the evolution that Positively Balanced was meant for, the work had to be done. I remember telling my good friend about these crazy ideas I had during one of our walks. After I babbled for a good while, she looked at me and said “Well then, why don’t you do it?!”

The Be HEaRd Women’s Health Platform was formed. I only remember posting about searching for contributors twice on social media. Within a week, I had so much interest I knew we were destined for greatness.

Starting in January 2020, you will have over 20 founding contributors (we call ourselves HEaRd), writing to you along with a few special guests popping in here and there. We will provide you with honest, current, and relevant articles that cover a variety of dimensions of health.

Our goal is to “Bridge the Gap” in Women’s Health. The gap between generations, research and application, The gap between the phases of life, and so much more.

Women’s health platform is starting the conversations, empowering women with knowledge and supporting you with a wonderful community!

(The dimensions of health is something we will discuss in the Founder’s Note each month, and if you are interested in learning more sign up to be placed on a preorder list of my short ebook coming out soon.)

PS: Stay tuned for more information on and WHY we are HEaRd!

Thanks for joining us on this adventure,

Cassandra McCoy MS, ATC, LAT
Founder of Positively Balanced LLC

Tools to Go From “Busy” to Productive

Professionals Who Bridge the Gap in Women’s Health – Part 1

Juggling Multiple Roles in Our Modern World

Juggling Multiple Roles in Our Modern World

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