Let me start off by saying that I’m no expert in this topic. Making time to train is tough, very tough. I work full time, am married (to a triathlete husband who has his own training demands), and am a Mom to two young girls, 7 and 5. Making time to just make lunch is a challenge, let alone a 60 minute strength session!
Covid has made for its own challenges now that the whole family is under one roof all day every day. My old “breaks” have been filled with demands of… “Mommy, can you please get me some water?”, “Mommy, can you please help me log onto school?”, “Mommy, can we please have a dance party?” (of which the answer to the latter is always a YES!
So how to I manage, how do I train, how do I find a minute to breathe for myself? Well, again, a work in progress, but I have been able to squeeze in some quality sessions this year without having to wake up at the crack of dawn.
I took part in a leadership class my work offered a couple of years ago. A great piece of advice I learned was Outlook calendar management. All of my activities for the day are color-coded. For instance, a customer meeting (I’m in sales) is coded yellow, an internal call that I’m leading is coded purple, any personal errand is green, and any workout type of activity is coded in a dark green. It’s nice to be able to visually picture how the week is shaping up and where a color might be “lacking” (like the workouts). Every week I schedule my whole week out in advance and dedicate at least 60 min to exercise (I try for every day if possible). I block it out on my calendar so that nobody from work can gobble up that time. Now, I may end up shifting it around a bit if emergencies arise, but at least it is on my calendar from the get-go. It makes it really hard to move once it’s on there.
When I have a busy week of conference calls, I try to multi-task. When I have a call that I only have to listen in on, I will try and go for a run. Makes the run and the call both seem shorter – win win! My 5 year old has been especially interested in running with me lately. I find that those runs aren’t the fastest or most productive physically, but they have been some of the best and funniest 30min I could ever spend. Quality time at its best!
Sometimes I multitask with conference calls while on the bike too, although, I really like to save my really trashy tv time to my bike workouts – so that’s a real mental break! Hello Bachelorette! (Don’t judge me – lol)!
I also tried to incorporate yoga into my weekly routine this year. That is the toughest to really find time to decompress and mentally escape, but probably the most rewarding once complete. I signed up for a monthly subscription class that I can get on my iPad. Tons of classes offered at my fingertips. Very convenient.
Well, that’s that… my secret to success… or honestly, just survival!