Summer time means things are going on. You have work, wine nights with friends, the kids have sports, and so much in between. The question turns into IF you’ll be able to workout, not WHEN. And we get it. Summer is a time to have fun and enjoy ourselves. We only get a few decent months in the Midwest and when a bit of free time does pop up in our schedule, the last thing we want to think about is going to the gym. BUT you also know how important staying healthy and staying active is. We have to keep it a priority, which is easier said than done.
This is where the power of a calendar comes in to play, and if you keep an updated schedule or calendar you know just how important it is. If you don't, I highly recommend getting into the practice because it could change your life - click here for a How To Start Scheduling walk-through. For me, my calendar is my lifeline. Every morning I check it to see what I have for the day - meetings, appointments, when I'm working out, etc. Whatever obligation I have, I put in my calendar. A key here is that my workouts are also obligations and clearly distinguished - in my calendar they are as important as a work meeting, and they don’t get moved unless they absolutely need to be.
I realize a lot of parents - mothers in particular, have trouble doing things for themselves. As a parent, your responsibility is to literally put your children’s needs in front of your own. But if you are not careful it is very easy to let your own health and sanity deteriorate to critical levels. I've seen it first hand with people important to me and I'm willing to bet you've seen it as well. That's why you HAVE to carve out time for yourself. You can't keep saying it'll happen when it happens or I'll make time later. You need to take action and make it a priority.
Think about it like this - a typical workout is an hour long, and we have 24 hours in a day. That means a typical workout takes up about 4% of your day. If our goal is to workout 3 or 4 times per week, that is only 2% of your entire weekly time budget. You need to be judicious about your 3 or 4 hours per week. It’s a tiny amount of time, but it is SO IMPORTANT for your long term health and wellness. You'll be hard pressed to find anything else in life that is so beneficial for you but only takes up 2% of your time - that's a pretty good return on investment if you ask me!
Another tricky situation to deal with is when your schedule isn’t totally rigid and it’s susceptible to short-notice changes or you may get called in. In these situations, earlier tends to be better. If you know your evenings tend to be unpredictable because of one thing or another, then get your workout done before work. Mornings are typically free of obligation, and if you workout early enough, then no one is up to occupy your time. As they say, early bird gets the worm.
You could also try to prioritize your days off of work. If you know you have Saturday and Sunday off, then make sure you get your workouts done on those days! And don't tell me Sunday's are off limits - if your week is busy enough, then you need to make it a priority, even on Sunday. If you use this strategy, then during the week you only need to find 2 or 3 days to fit workouts in, they can even be smaller/quicker at home workouts.
If you need any help managing a hectic summer schedule, please don't hesitate to reach out. We'd be more than happy to sit down with you to look at your unique situation and create a strategy that truly works. It's time to take action, no more putting it off!
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