Making time and sticking to it
Do you always feel like it? Not Likely. Will you always feel better for doing it anyways? Likely
If you are like me at all then there are many days where there is just too much going on. Getting a workout in for yourself seems like the lowest priority with all the other tasks that need to be done to keep life, kids, work, relationships and everything else afloat.
Yet you hear all the time to fill your own cup first, so you can help others better. Just like in an airplane you have to put your own oxygen mask on first, so you are still breathing to help others.
So how do you figure this tangled mess out to do it right?
Well let’s first establish that what ‘looks’ right for you will be vastly different than others. Please don’t compare your right to your peers.
Next the thing to do is sit down with your schedule and schedule everything in. Kids extracurriculars, work, eating, shopping, prepping, showering, commuting, spouse activities… absolutely everything.
Got that? Good. Now schedule in your workouts where they realistically fit! Even if it is 15 minutes before your shower.
Hey, wait Elaine aren’t we talking about whether we feel like working out or not? Why are you talking about schedules?
Yes, we are. In order to truly make a choice to do or not do a workout we need to establish first if it is realistic to our schedule.
Okay now let’s look at 2 different situations.
Situation 1: You have scheduled in a workout for 6 am. The dog wakes you up barking 5 times in the night or you are restless because of work stress or you have a kid that is up all night because of the boogey man and you sleep through your alarm (actually sleep through it, not making a choice to shut it off).
So now you are left with having to find a different time to get that workout in. You know you can do it after your evening engagements, but you will likely be tired and won’t feel like it. Now is the time to make your choice. Health is your number one goal, so you decide you are going to do it then.
Now 9 pm rolls around. Every ounce of your body says F*^K this I am going to bed!
Before you crawl into bed and scroll through your phone for 45 minutes I want you to ask yourself 2 questions.
- Am I too tired or am I being lazy?
- Will I feel better physically and mentally after I get some exercise in?
Now that you have likely established a workout is worth it, time to spend that 45 minutes a little bit sweaty instead of filling your mind with useless screen time scrolling through your phone!
Situation 2:
You scheduled your workout for after the kids go to bed in the evening. Kid one and three use every stalling technique possible before actually going to sleep. Your partner has a late meeting and isn’t able to help. You have an early meeting that you want to prep for. You ‘feel’ like cuddling into the couch to watch some mindless TV. Your back is sore from a long day. You can basically see the importance of everything but a workout. Again, I want you to ask yourself 2 questions.
- Am I too tired or am I being lazy?
- Will I feel physically and mentally better if you workout? AKA Will I want to strangle my kids less after a head clearing workout? Will I better be able to make notes for my morning meeting after a mind clearing workout? Will useless screen time on the couch actually make me feel good mentally or physically? Will my sore tired back feel better after some constructive movement?
Okay time to make the choices that are right for you and your goals. Are you going to
- Put your own oxygen mask on first so you can ‘feel on top of your world’ and therefore help others better?
- Are you settling for status quo because you need to?
- Are you going to be lazy and settle for the status quo?
By having your workouts scheduled in it helps it the times of exhaustion and indecision because at some point you knew you could fit a workout into the day.
Be compassionate to yourself but also call yourself out when your excuses are bullshit.