Today, our incredible JAYD girl, Lizzie Welborn, is taking over the blog to share how she manages the weekly mental load. As a top athlete, Lizzie knows the challenges of balancing training, work, and life. Dive in for her tips on staying focused and keeping it all together!
One of the most useful things I have learnt over my years of being an athlete is the importance of managing my weekly mental load. I would say it is pretty common for an athlete to have one of those weeks where we are completely exhausted, overwhelmed, stressed, and everything feels really hard. It is in times like this where I need a few days off training to recoup and get my energy back. This used to happen to me every few months. I thought the only reason it was happening was because I had done too much training and wasn’t recovering well. Which is true to a degree… But what I have learnt is one of the reasons I was not recovering well was because outside of training, I was not managing my mental load very well.
As athletes, training requires brain power. On top of this there are many other things we have to juggle and think about. We might be studying, working, a combination of both, living out of home, commuting between these commitments, finding time for physio, doing normal life things, the list goes on. Without realising it, we can find ourselves in situations where our brain has been working hard all day trying to keep up with all these things. For example if you train at 5am, do things all day and then train in the afternoon, our minds have been working non stop for a long time. Doing this day in and day out for weeks on end without giving our minds time to relax or unwind, can lead to a stressed mind and body, and eventually utter exhaustion.
Managing your weekly mental load and weekly stress levels are important for avoiding these moments of exhaustion. I have learnt this the hard way after finding myself in this situation far too many times, but I now implement little things into my weekly routine to give my mind a chance to wind down.
Journaling
I have always been a big journaling girly. Every morning after training I spend a few minutes writing down what is on my mind. This could be about training or about normal life. This helps me get clarity around my thoughts and I find it very therapeutic.
Meditation
You’ve probably heard it 1000 times before that meditation is good for you. I have had a love hate relationship with it my whole life, going through phases where I am meditating heaps and then not at all. Nowadays I set simple goals for myself. I try to do a few 10 minute guided meditations in the middle of the day each week. I am far from perfect at this but the weeks where I am consistent with it I do feel much more relaxed.
Eating without my phone
I try to eat lunch during the day without scrolling on my phone to give it a moment away from stimulation. I try to either read a book or just sit silently. I definitely don't do this every day but it is something I am always trying to come back to.
Nap
I used to feel guilty napping, especially when there is lots of work to do. But giving myself the chance to have even just a 20 minute nap throughout the week can do wonders to my energy levels and a chance for my mind to switch off during the day.
Winding down before bed
My favourite time to mentally relax is at night before bed. I always lay on the couch and watch a bit of a movie or TV show. However, the key to this relaxation for me is that I try to do it without my phone. If I am watching TV and scrolling on instagram at the same time, my mind is not actually relaxing. I always try to put my phone away after dinner and enjoy watching TV without distractions before bed. Scrolling in bed is off limits for me because I know it gets my mind ticking all over again.
As you can see, none of these things are big time commitments or hard to do. They are simple little things that can be done a couple of times a week to help relax the mind. When I do these things consistently, I don’t find myself at the tipping point of exhaustion as often. Other bigger things I like to do are getting a massage, doing a sauna, or reading my book during the day. There are also many other things out there we can do to relax our minds, so I encourage you to find what works for you! I used to feel guilty taking moments for myself throughout the week, thinking it was a waste of time, not productive or even lazy. But I now know I am much more productive, energetic, and happy when I prioritise giving my mind a few chances to relax each week.
- Lizzie Welborn xx