Quite a few years ago, with my ex, he informed me he wanted 'time' for Christmas. Burger King was giving away Star Wars watches with their kid's meals. Guess who got 5 watches, a jar of ground & a jar of whole thyme for Christmas - wrapped up in a pretty bow!?!? Yes, I'm that person who makes gifts creative. Should have seen the calendar I made when he asked for 'Long Johns' for his birthday. You guessed it, a calendar full of pictures of Port-o-potties that were wildly elongated on the page. Does anyone else like creating creative gifts?
As we are on our journey to better health and our goals, one of the biggest complaints that I hear from clients is that they do not have the time to work out. We are pre-programmed (thank you PE in school) to believe that it's not a workout if we do not spend at least 30-60 minutes working out. Okay everyone, right now, take a piece of paper and a pen. In the middle of that piece of paper write the words 'I HAVE TO WORK OUT FOR 30-60 MINUTES IN ORDER FOR IT TO COUNT AS A WORKOUT!' Now, take that piece of paper, crumple it up, then shred it into teeny, tiny pieces and toss that thought in the trash, burn it (in a safe fireplace or burn pit), send those pieces through your office shredder. Any way to get rid of that thought. Good, now that you've gotten rid of that thought, let's move on.
Let's look at your day. You wake up, get ready for your day, head out the door, drive to work/kids to school/go get coffee/etc. Maybe 8-10 hours of your day is taken up with work. Maybe 8-12 hours of your day is spent taking care of the kids. Then, you get home, make dinner, clean up the house, clean the kids, go to the gym for an awesome aqua-aerobics class (shameless plug for Aqua Fit). All of this before collapsing into bed or on the couch, exhausted, knowing that you get the pleasure of doing it all over again tomorrow. Maybe your favorite show is on tonight and you cannot miss it. Maybe you have a weekly meeting in-person/online that is super important for you to attend (again, shameless plug for Jumpstart program). How will you ever fit any time into your day to work out?
Much like Nancy Drew (TM), you have to look for the clues to find time in your day for movement and healthy choices. We've all heard the 'park at the end of the parking lot, take the stairs, take a walk at break during work' ideas, and yes, those are great ideas, but there is so much more time in our days that we can find.
You take Sally/Johnny/Chris to sports practice and sit there watching them. That's great but there's something better you can be doing. Walk the track, the parking lot, the area around the building - you do not need to be the helicopter parent watching their every move - that is the task that the coaches are paid to perform. Take some time before the practice to say 'Hey Kid, today, Mom is going to take some time while you are at practice to do something healthy for her. Are you good if I do not sit and watch your entire practice?' Odds are high that the answer will be 'oh, definitely yes!' One less parent watching the highs and lows of practice.
You have 10 minutes before an appointment - yeah you for arriving early - but due to Covid, they don't want you in the office. That's awesome! Take those few minutes to do some standing/balance exercises at your car. No, you don't look weird and nobody cares that you're working out in the parking lot. However, if it is right before a doctor's appointment, do not do anything too taxing that will increase your blood pressure.
I get not wanting to miss the show you want to watch - I am that way too. Let's look at this though, can you work out and watch the show? Most definitely!!! Stand up and work out during commercials. Heck, you can even do most arm, upper body seated exercises while you are watching the show!! Can anyone tell me which show I am waiting for? If you guess it, send me a private message on FB with the name of the show to be entered in for a prize.
My kids/spouse/family are all right there! GREAT!!! Johnny/Sally/Chris can ALL join in the workout. Heya Chris, can you help me with this exercise? Let me know that my back is straight when I'm leaning over. Heya Johnny, can you show me your jumping jacks? Sally, do you know how to do this move? Can you reach further than Mommy? Get that family involved - or start working out and dollars to donuts they will run away to do their own thing - and help show them that you care, so they should too.
In the past when I have had to look at my time, I create a daily chart that will allow me to track the things that I am doing throughout the day. This helps me figure out where I can carve time out for working on me.
ASSIGNMENT!! Your assignment is to track your time for 3 days. What time did you wake up? What time did you get ready for work? What did you do then? What time did you go to bed? I have attached an example and a blank form for you to fill out for the next 3 days. We will be going over these at the Sunday Jumpstart meetings.
Here is the pdf file for the assignment: