How do you make time??

bga008
bga008 Posts: 90
in Motivation and Support
Just wondering for all the busy people out there how you arrange your schedule or make time.

Recently, I have started taking more college classes ... now i am having trouble making time for ....

a workout

schoolwork

cleaning the house

making dinner

and making time for my boyfriend.... all after an 8 hour day @ work .. I get home around 5:30


How do you fulfill all your needs after work?

Do you wake up early to fit in your workout?

Replies

  • ubermensch13
    ubermensch13 Posts: 824 Member
    8 hour work day? That all? Both my wife and I probably put in 55+ a week at work, try to spend time with each other each day and have a social life, and I find the time to work out because I MAKE THE TIME. I schedule 8pm crossfit classes twice a week, and get up early on Sat/Sun to hit the gym for an hour and a half. If you really want it, no matter how busy you are, you can find the time, it is all about making it a priority.
  • Im_NotPerfect
    Im_NotPerfect Posts: 2,181 Member
    Here's my schedule:

    Up at 5:00 to work out (run, stationary bike, 30 DS, whatever)
    Get me and 2 kids ready for work/school/day care (dressed, making lunches, etc)
    Take kids to school/day care and go to work
    "work" for 8 hours (really spend most of that time on here)
    Leave around 4:00 to pick kids up from school/day care
    Go home and make dinner (although I have to say my husband does most of the cooking)
    Eat around 6:00
    Clean up dishes/kitchen
    Bathe kids, make sure homework is done
    Get kids to bed
    Relax for about an hour
    In bed around 9 or 10

    Now this assumes there's nothing going on after work/school like ice skating lessons or dance for the kids!
  • derekj222
    derekj222 Posts: 370 Member
    As busy as everyone is, there is ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS time for the gym....
    To make time gym try the following:
    -less time with BF
    -less time watching TV
    -less time on Facebook
    -get up earlier
    -plan your week ahead of time (what you do each hour of each day)
    -etc, etc

    These may not pertain to you, but on average most people don't realize how much time they spend on their computers of watching tv and say they can never make it to the gym
  • Brizoeller
    Brizoeller Posts: 182 Member
    You make time if it is important to you. I'm a single mom to a 2 year old son and I work full time. I also have a home to run, 2 dogs to take care of, and other outside obligations such as church. I've made time to lose almost 50 pounds. Make a schedule, that always works best.

    If it is importan, you'll find a way. If it isn't, you find an excuse! You can do it :)
  • AZDreamgirl
    AZDreamgirl Posts: 70
    Hmmm it's all about priorities. I wake up 5:30, wake up my teen son for school before I leave at 6:15 (this in itself is work) arrive at work 7:15-3:45 get home about 4:30 eat dinner by 5, head out for boot camp class 6:40 class starts at 7-8 get home shower, catch up on DVR for an hour in bed by 10. Repeat Mon, Tues and Thurs. Friday day off. Satuday Hike 3 miles 7 am, Sunday enjoy football and family.
  • iAMsmiling
    iAMsmiling Posts: 2,394 Member
    Can't make a minute of it. You get 24 hours just like the rest of us...wouldn't be fair otherwise.

    Everything else is priorities.
  • alpine1994
    alpine1994 Posts: 1,915 Member
    I work 12 hour days and you just have to make it a part of your schedule. I have ballet classes twice a week after work (at 8pm haha) and I prepaid for them and I just love going so it's a priority that I get there. My boyfriend understands and he usually gets dinner ready for me when I get home. On other days, I do my workout as soon as I get home but they are usually short, 30-45 minutes. I do DVDs. I do longer workouts on the weekends when I have more time.

    I plan all meals on Sunday when we do the grocery shopping so it ensures we eat good, healthy meals during our crazy days.

    You can make it work, you just have to be organized and get a plan together. And don't worry about the bf! He will understand that you need to put time aside to work out and become healthy.
  • JenJen0932
    JenJen0932 Posts: 34 Member
    A friend once told me, "You make time for the things you want to do" and that is so true. I drag myself out of bed at 5:30am to do an 8 to 10km walk/run and am at the office by 9am and don't stop again until 11:30pm at least, and sometimes squeeze in a water fitness class somewhere in there.

    However, I started by dragging myself out of bed to walk around the neighbourhood before work. Then I got a bit better and a bit better and now I have worked up to current level. You don't have to do it all at once as an all-or-nothing type of thing.

    It is not always easy, but life at 300+ pounds was really not easy.

    And now, to spend time with friends and my hubby, we go for a walk or something else active - it is possible to make small changes that will add up to big results. I am down 110 pounds as of today and I am proud of how I have managed to fit the time into what I thought was a jam packed schedule.

    It really is possible!!
  • MissAnjy
    MissAnjy Posts: 2,480 Member
    I MAKE time for a work out.
    I get up at 7:00am with my two sons (4 year old twins, i'm a single mother) and we do their physiotherapy for 30 minutes (they have Cystic Fibrosis) and while they do that, I get their breakfast ready. I eat, they eat, I get them dressed, brushed teeth, brushed hair, sit them down to watch cartoons while I get MYSELF ready for work, shower, hair, makeup, clothes. Then, we get ourselves out the door. I drop them off at school and I head off to work. I work an 8 hour day (sometimes longer) and then I go home, cook supper for myself and my kids, and then from 6-7 we have scheduled "family hour" where we just sit down and relax together & enjoy eachother. Talk about their day at school, my day at work etc.
    Every single night at 7pm, I work out (unless something comes up and it's pushed back, but it ALWAYS happens). My kids either watch me work out, participate in the work out, or play in their playroom kitty corner to my work out room. After my work out is done, I take them back upstairs, we do their homework, thenwe have a snack and a drink while we do another round of physiotherapy (happens multiple times a day) and they watch tv while I pack their school lunches and back packs for the next day. After physio, we shut the tv off, get into our jammies, brush our teeth & tuck them into bed. I almost ALWAYS lay down in bed & watch a girly movie (right now it's SATC seasons) and relax before sleeping around 11.

    Rinse and repeat, 6 days a week.

    You have to set yourself a schedule. It's the only way that works for me.
  • sarahharmintx
    sarahharmintx Posts: 868 Member
    Im so jealous you get home at 5:30pm.

    Im up with the husband about 5:30am then get the kid ready for school, feed the dogs, start laundry, pack lunches and get ready for work. After dropping her at school I drive 30 minutes to work and work usually 8 hours. Then each evening there is an activity. Girl Scouts, riding lessons, dinner with family (I have a ton of family in the area), church, homework, school activity or just something else to do. So if I do get home at 5:30pm, its to let the dogs out and leave again. Dinner is anywhere from 6pm to 8pm. Then its house duties. Bed is about 10-11pm.
  • meggawatt
    meggawatt Posts: 145 Member
    I sacrifice sleep and yes, its true my home is not as clean as it once was because I would rather work out than clean it.

    My husband gets annoyed when I would rather workout in the gym (in our basement) than sit next to him on the couch in the evenings, but he cannot undercut the results and his appreciation of said results.
  • tweetybaby69
    tweetybaby69 Posts: 258 Member
    I am up at 6:45, my kids are self sufficient because they are 13 and 16, they are responsible for waking themselves up and getting their own breakfast and out the door.

    I will work out between 7 and 7:30
    Head to work about 8:10
    Work from 8:30 to 5:30 (most of the time being on here)
    I get home about 6:00
    If there is no soccer practice or ccd I cook dinner and while dinner is cooking, I will try to get another 30 minute workout in.

    My husband works nights so everything pretty much falls on me.

    I may sit and watch some tv then get up and pick up and put away around the house

    I usually do not hit the bed until 11:30 or midnight.

    I used to think I did not have time to work out either. But whether it's 15 minutes, 20 minutes 30 minutes or an hour plus, I have been finding a way to get it in.

    If you really want to do it, you can find a way to fit it in.
  • capnrus789
    capnrus789 Posts: 2,736 Member
    An MFP friends sent me this link. Read it, it's good stuff.

    http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2012/07/26/priorities/
  • Hellbent_Heidi
    Hellbent_Heidi Posts: 3,669 Member
    Do you wake up early to fit in your workout?
    YES!

    I leave the house around 4:45 to get to the gym...workout for around 90 minutes average, shower, dress and go to work. With an hour commute in rush hour, I don't get home till 6PM and we have dinner, clean the kitchen and spend time together (watch tv or whatever) before bed. House gets cleaned a little here, a little there (a load of laundry here or there in the evenings) and some heavier cleaning on the weekend.

    You either want to work out (in which case, you make time), or you don't (and make excuses). EVERYONE is busy :ohwell:

    Oh, and if you and your BF both work full time, there's no reason he can't assist (if he's not already) with housework to help make things easier for you to get a workout in!
  • gingerjen7
    gingerjen7 Posts: 821 Member
    Get your priorities in order. If something is important to you, you'll do it.

    I don't need to detail my schedule and how much busier it is than your schedule, as it's really not that relevant. I work out about an hour after dinner whether I want to or not (and most of the time, I don't).

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