“Life ain't a track meet. No, it's a marathon”
- Ice Cube
I grew up in the age of Ice Cube and waterfall methodology. So when agile thinking became widespread, I jumped in to learn about everything from scrums to sprints. And while there’s a lot to gain from agile, there was one thing that bothered me—even if it was just semantics.
Is constantly sprinting realistic? …Sustainable? …Fulfilling?
Now, before the Scrum Masters come after me, let me clarify: My goal is not to tear apart agile. Its phrasing just added to the analogy that had already been building in my brain as I felt myself continuously sprinting at 120% effort, trying to reach that finish line—only to see another one constantly show up behind it.
When we’re younger, that fire is likely self-driven. If you’re like me (any other oldest daughters here?), you may have been motivated to over-achieve, to always be the best at whatever you were doing. You also likely had the time and mental capacity to let work bleed into your off hours. Personally, I have been sprinting since high school… okay, grade school. Yet as new variables enter the “race”; a partner, children, hobbies missed or just discovered—it becomes harder to maintain that pace at work.
We start wondering if we’ll ever reach that final push and break through the finish line so we can just rest.
So what options do we have?
We can lean in.
Pushing through the burn. Pulling in help. Fulfilling our need for speed.
We can drop out of the race.
Lose out on lifetime earning potential to instead become rich in experiences and memories.
We can slow down.
Step out of the fast track, yet keep moving forward.
None of these are wrong. All of them are right. Everyone does what’s right for them.
The key is to be proactively thoughtful — to think strategically about when it’s time to sprint, and when it’s time to recover. If life (and careers) are a marathon, working mothers in particular need to be purposeful about their pace.
If the description above resonated with you, you likely came out of the gates sprinting like I did.
Have you reached the point of exhaustion yet?
Maybe you’re getting close?
Or maybe you’ve hit your stride and can maintain this pace for years to come...
Whatever your situation, have you thought about your marathon strategy?
If you have a long-term partner, you may also want to consider how you can help each other sprint and recover throughout your careers. Jennifer Petriglieri wrote an in-depth article for Harvard Business Review on How Dual Career Couples Make it Work, that is definitely worth a read.
For me, the right move for this next mile is to recover. I have made purposeful shifts to allow myself continued forward progress at a sustainable pace. I admit, at first I questioned if I had lost my ambition… but then I realized, it hasn’t gone anywhere. In fact, it’s because I want to win in this race of life that I’ve begun to think strategically about my career in this way.
When the time and opportunity is right, I’ll sprint again. And when I do, I will be fueled with refreshed energy instead of fumes.
So what’s your strategy? Take a minute right now to think, how long do I want to maintain my current pace? When should I plan some recovery? And maybe the biggest question of all, what am I racing towards?
Whatever you decide, I’ll see you at the finish line!