I’ve met some of the most unique, kind and interesting people through the yoga community. One of them is Marta Grygo. When she’s not downward dogging at our gym, she is working at one of her TWO super demanding jobs: a psychologist by day, and a real estate agent by night.

A Polish-born ninja with blue eyes and a whole lotta work ethic, Marta starts her day at 6am with a coffee in one hand, and dog leash in the other. She checks emails and any listings that have hit the market overnight, then starts job number one. I caught up with her to talk about multi-tasking, her first career as a paper delivery girl, and making it work on the go.

“My day is spent counselling clients as my background is in counselling psychology,” she says. Upon her triumphant return home, she heads out to the dog park with her pup Sophie once again, and catches up on neighbourhood gossip. She loves and lives for the St Lawrence Market area, which is essentially job number two.

“Evenings are spent showing clients listings they are interested in or working on any offers. If I don’t have any showings I go spinning or to yoga at Movemeant in the west end.” After grad school, Marta spent a year teaching English in Japan, which she says was formative: “It was pretty amazing and my love for urban living really grew from that experience.”

She says an important part of a successful, busy life is having a caring support network who can keep up with her. “I have had some great people in my life who have encouraged me to take on new challenges, explore the world, and not be afraid to fall flat on my face as long as I get up again and keep going. I’m very grateful for the support and encouragement.”

The volume of clients Marta sees in a single day must be overwhelming. But she doesn’t see it this way: “There’s no better feeling than helping someone get the home they were dreaming about or a fixer upper that they turn into something beautiful. I also love helping people through what can be a very stressful and complicated process.” As we speak I realize that there’s a commonality to Marta’s careers: her passion is helping people, whether this means grief counselling or the perfect two bedroom.

And balancing a number of jobs isn’t a new feat for Marta, who says she embraces the challenge and grows from it. “I’ve learned a lot from all my jobs: from my first delivering the paper at 6 in the morning in -40C weather in Winnipeg when I was ten, to working abroad, to working with people who are in crisis situations. It’s taught me a lot about connecting with people.”

So what does one wear for a 24-hour work day? “I live in JCrew pencil skirts and their cashmere cardigans,” she says. “It’s really tough to get going but you can really make [a career that] you want if you have a strong work ethic and don’t get discouraged too easily.”

As for the future, don’t expect Marta to slow down: “I’ve done several large scale renovations and am convinced I would make a great general contractor. Who knows, it might be the next challenge.”