If there’s one thing I truly love about New York City, it’s the over abundance of talented, driven and inspiring people at every turn. It’s no longer uncommon to juggle between a full-time career, blogging ventures, an intense fitness routine and other passion projects — in fact, it’s become quite the norm! Everyone is pushing themselves to do more and do better, and some of these women have made it look super easy.
Enter the Girlboss Squad
Welcome back to my fav monthly series that highlights one inspirational woman who seemingly does it all. These are women that have proven that with hard work, determination and a positive attitude anything is possible. Despite their busy schedules, they have taken time to share their tips on how to find balance in this crazy, chaotic city… and my hope is that they will inspire you as much as they’ve inspired me.
If you’ve been following the series for the past few months, you may have noticed that all the outfits have generously come from JUJA Active. One of the reasons why I’ve loved partnering with them is because their mission is so similar to that of this series — to empower women to be their most confident selves.
This month, I’m thrilled to share a Q&A with a girlboss who is not only boldly confident, but also has the most “twinning” life to mine! Minus the runner part, because we all know I’m not about that life. 😉
I’d love for you to meet Evann Clingan
She’s a marathon runner, fitness blogger, and digital strategist from Pittsburgh who now resides in Brooklyn with her adorable Frenchie, Pico.
Evann and I met a year ago in sunny Los Angeles. We were both selected to represent Propel Water during the IDEA World Blog Fest, which consisted of four days of intense workouts, lots of sweat, and of course, a ton of fun.
I gravitated towards Evann pretty immediately — not just because she has such a warm, positive personality but also because I found out we share the same career. While I do social media strategy for a global beauty brand, she does social media strategy for a few top fitness brands. Which is basically #goals for someone who has such a huge passion for the industry both in and out of the office!
What I love about Evann is that she’s so down to earth and keeps things very real. As a young professional with a passion for fitness, all her Instagram posts really resonate with me because the subject matter often covers exactly what I’m going through. Without the risk of spoiling too much, please read on for the low-down on all things @EvannClingan straight from the source.
Q. Tell us about yourself in one sentence.A. I am a digital strategist and endorphin-fueled redhead aiming for some form of healthy balance in New York City. Q. When did you start training for races and how many have you run?A. In high school, I was always anxious about the 1 Mile Run. If you had told me I’d someday run 9 half marathons and 2 full marathons, I would have called you crazy. In 2015, I watched the New York City Marathon and decided that I would run my first half marathon to benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society because my dad is a cancer survivor. If those runners of all shapes and sizes could run 26.2 miles, I could definitely run 13.1! Since 2015, I’ve run races in Washington D.C., San Francisco, Pittsburgh, Vancouver, Las Vegas, Austin, Cleveland, Disney World, and here in New York. Q. Describe your typical day.A. Since I have a full-time job, my schedule is somewhat routine. I wake up around 7:00am to take care of my French Bulldog, Pico. I’m at work, creating social strategy for brands like Fitbit and Oculus, from 9:00am-6:00pm (give or take depending on my workload). After work, I typically head to the gym or go for a run. At night, my boyfriend cooks a delicious, healthy meal and we watch a bit of TV with Pico before bed. Q. When and why did you start your blog?A. Before I was a runner, I was a dancer. I grew up dancing competitively but stopped before college. When I moved to New York, boutique fitness was becoming popular. On an entry level salary, I couldn’t afford many classes, so I would research studios and instructors to find the ones that I would enjoy most. This entailed reading online reviews. I figured that if I was reading reviews from others, I should add mine to the mix, as well. What started as a class review blog grew into a space for me to share race training, activewear recommendations, and other healthy experiences. These days, I focus more on Instagram than on my blog. Q. How do you manage to balance a career, marathon training and blogging?A. This is the million-dollar question. I have a few thoughts about balancing various commitments in life. The first thing I’ve learned is that you can never FIND more time, but you will MAKE more time for the commitments that are most important to you. You have 24 hours in your day, so you have to decide where to give and take to make those commitments happen. Which leads me to the idea of balance. I don’t necessarily believe in achieving balance, but I do believe you can aim for some form of balance. This means that sometimes my work schedule gets hectic, so I skip creating my own social content. The balance begins with prioritization. What do you want (or have) to do most? Q. What is your favorite fitness studio(s) in NYC?A. I have so many! I love Mile High Run Club (running), Uplift Studios (strength), and Yoga Vida (yoga). Q. What is a quote that you live by?A. This goes back to my philosophy on balance: “You can do anything, but not everything.” — David Allen Q. What can people expect when they follow you on Instagram?A. My social media presence reflects my perspective on balance, as well. There was a time when I thought I could do it all, and it led to me burning out. I’ve been honest about that on social media. These days, I share beautiful photos but with honest captions. I encourage self care and think fitness should be about moving in a way that feels good. Q. What do you think it means to be a #girlboss?A. My definition of a girl boss has definitely changed in the last year. I think a girl boss is a woman who works relentlessly to achieve her goals but also knows the importance of self care. She is unapologetic about taking time for herself, so she can keep pushing toward those goals. Q. Any tips for other women who are hustling and trying to balance a busy schedule + their passions?A. My best advice is to prioritize what’s most important to you know and to think about your end game. Is your side project simply for fun? Do you want to take your side project full time someday? By answering those questions, you’ll have a road map for how to approach the various aspects of your life. But more than anything, lean in to the things that make you light up. |
So how’s that for inspiration? I really really love this particular quote from our interview:
“You can never FIND more time, but you will MAKE more time for the commitments that are most important to you.” – Evann
The lack of time seems to be a pretty common excuse that I’ve not only made myself, but have also heard from many others. There’s not enough time to work out. There’s not enough time to meet up. There’s not enough time to do all the things on my checklist. Well, the reality is that the way we spend our time is entirely a choice. And I think that’s what Evann hit on so beautifully. Make time for the commitments that are the most important to you… because there will never ever be “enough” time for everything.
I hope you all enjoyed reading about Evann and go show her some love on her blog and Instagram! Come back next month to read about another badass girlboss. In the meantime…
Keep hustlin’
*Note: This post was sponsored by JUJA Active. Check out their website to shop our outfits! You can use discount code HHEELS15 for 15% off your purchase.