Balancing IVF with a career

The schedule of IVF has thrown me for a loop and I have had to work hard at trying to keep a healthy balance of IVF, work, and life. I am a CEO of a medical device company and my job is relatively stressful. I typically travel about 40% of the time and often more with the corporate office being based in Austin, TX. I knew that IVF would take up a lot of my time but I didn’t really consider how much it would impact my work life and my productivity. My mind is always on IVF and trying to focus can be difficult. I am used to performing at a high level and retaining and acting on information quickly. Whether it is the meds or stress of IVF I personally felt a decline in my performance when we started the process. I had to do some trial and error but have found ways to make it more manageable that may be helpful to others going through this journey.

I get up an hour earlier than I used to, 5 instead of 6. This gives me an hour to be alone with my thoughts, to have some me time, and to focus on whatever I feel like focusing on without interruption. I have a schedule that I stick to in the morning that works for me but you should adjust it to how you see fit.

I stretch for 10 minutes in the morning, it gets my blood flowing and energy started. I read daily affirmations, sometimes I use ones that I have found online, other times I write them out myself. Affirmations work and they shift me to a positive mind set to accomplish everything I need to get done. It usually takes me 5-10 minutes. Then I go and drink a glass of cold water, it was hard the first couple days but has become part of my routine. (I struggle with water intake so this helps get things started right.) Then I sit in silence for 20 minutes and think about everything going on with my journey. I write down at least one positive thing that has come out of my thoughts that day and believe me there have been days where that has been hard. Then I meditate for 10 minutes and when it has been warm enough I sit on my back porch and just take deep breaths. This morning routine calms me and allows me to focus on anything I want in that hour. At 6:00 my day starts and I am energized to get what I need to get done accomplished. During my stimulation phase I booked the first appointment of the day every day for my blood draws and ultrasounds so I could get them out of the way and back to focusing on my day outside of IVF.

IVF does not define me, it is not who I am. It is something I am going through, it is part of our story. We all have lives outside of IVF and although there are days that it doesn’t feel that way, focusing on all the other things in our lives can bring comfort and peace during these trying times. #balancinglife #ivfjourney #ivfmeds #gratefulheart #infertility #1in8 #prayingforamiracle #ttc #ivfsupport #ivfcommunity #ivfblog