How do you manage to eat well, sleep well and exercise when your life is insanely busy?

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HeatherTB2012
HeatherTB2012 Posts: 22 Member
in Motivation and Support
Looking for new friends and cheerleaders- I am a 49 year old mother of 2. I work full time in a very demanding job and I also run 3 small businesses. Anyone out there who understands my impossibly busy life? I’d love to connect with you!

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  • Evelyn_Gorfram
    Evelyn_Gorfram Posts: 706 Member
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    I'm stymied by the same problem. I don't even try to do nearly as much as you do, but I consider myself lucky when I get the top 1/3 of my to-do list checked off.
  • Seraxil
    Seraxil Posts: 18 Member
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    I was wondering the same thing! Although I don’t think I’m nearly as busy as you, I’m a teacher here in the UK so currently have a week of summer hols left. Not sure how I’m going to keep this up when I return what with having a 6 yr old too- if you don’t mind, I’ll add you as a friend and we can keep each other motivated and on track?! 😊
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
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    How about your days off? can you incorporate some activity into those days?
    All work and no play is no fun :/ hope you can find the time for just you soon.
  • JessiBelleW
    JessiBelleW Posts: 815 Member
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    I work 55 hours a week so I hear you on time. Figure out ways to make your life easier. How old are your kids? Can you drop one of them off at the supermarket with a list and jog around the parking lot? Can you food shop order online? What foods fit into your goal that you can use
    For snacks on mega busy days? Can the kids each have a night where they cook?

    Sleep: wind down 20m before bed. Keep a notebook next to your bed and if you have a thought write it down then remind yourself ‘I’ve written it down it’s taken care of’. Try to go to bed and wake up at the same time. Install one of those blue light filters on any electronics you use at night.

    Do you need 3 small businesses? Could you sell one of them?

  • tulips_and_tea
    tulips_and_tea Posts: 5,711 Member
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    Any possibility of getting out of the demanding job? Could any or all of your businesses support you full time? And, do you NEED all those incomes and responsibilities?

    Sometimes we make ourselves overly busy when it's not necessary. I think it's done sometimes subconsciously to make one feel better about themselves or as an escape from something else.

    If you can't make any changes at this time, then I think you should rephrase your thinking to "I absolutely HAVE to eat well, get enough sleep and be healthy in order to sustain this busy lifestyle."
  • Evelyn_Gorfram
    Evelyn_Gorfram Posts: 706 Member
    edited August 2018
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    HeatherTB2012 wrote: »
    Looking for new friends and cheerleaders- I am a 49 year old mother of 2. I work full time in a very demanding job and I also run 3 small businesses. Anyone out there who understands my impossibly busy life? I’d love to connect with you!
    Some thoughts that might be helpful:

    Your full-time job: It's probably not feasible to cut back too much there, but you might have sometimes have opportunities to avoid taking on even more responsibility.

    Your small businesses: It'd be a sacrifice, but could you scale one or two of these back, or even put one on hold? Also, I noticed on your profile that you do stuff with horses. If one of your businesses calls for physical horse-related labor that someone else is now doing, could you swap that out with one of your more sedentary chores (stablehand work vs. bookkeeping, or something like that)? You might have to pay more for the more sedentary/professional services, but you'd get the physical and psychological benefits of physical labor and working with the horses.

    Your kids: Can they take more responsibility for for themselves and the household? Are they old enough to do their own laundry, or cook dinner one night a week, etc.? They would learn skill they will need as adults, and you - once they've learned a bit - would get a break sometimes. On another note, could you share any of their exercise/sports/play activities? Run or bike with them, or do drills with them for whatever sports teams they're on?

    And, like another poster said, if you don't have much time to sleep, make the time you do have count. Get any stray light or disruptive pets (or even, if he's too disruptive, husbands) out of the room. Make sure your bed is clean and comfortable for you. Find sounds that help you drift off to sleep (quiet music, white noise, some radio stations - public radio talk shows often do it for me). Designate your sleeping hours and make them sacrosanct: if it's not bleeding or on fire, you can deal with it after the alarm goes off.

    (Wow, this is great advice. I should take some of it myself. ;) )
  • GratefulWayFarer
    GratefulWayFarer Posts: 61 Member
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    Make a timetable! I work as a full time scientist, but I make sure that I'm exercising nearly 7 days a week, whether it is light cardio or weight training. I nominally like to get this down before my day starts because of the effects of exercise on the brain (there's plenty of science on how it aids learning and general mental well being).

    I also fast by the day (done 3 days before) and its been a revelation for me.

    Hope to have interesting chats!
  • LumberJacck
    LumberJacck Posts: 559 Member
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    I work 7 days a week. I don't bother with fancy preparation of meals, the simpler the better. Also I have found that I can reduce cravings by eating the same things or mostly the same things every day.
  • ecrosby512
    ecrosby512 Posts: 55 Member
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    I never did find a way. The kids finally grew up. I quit my demanding job and side gigs. That wasn’t easy. It took many years to be able to do so. I’m so much happier. Sleep, stress, overeating, aches and pains are all much better as a result.
  • hesn92
    hesn92 Posts: 5,967 Member
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    If you have time to sit on the couch and watch TV (for example) then you have time. Is there a relatively soon end-game to all of this?
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
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    I raised my children on my own, so I hear you. I’m a freak about protecting my time. Grab your moments and double up goals where you can.

    Here’s two examples of doubling up goals:
    - Take the stairs at work. You get to where you need to go and you get a workout at the same time.
    - Run an exercise workout with your children. Family bonding and exercise all in one.

    Your sleep and your health is your priority because if you go down, the family goes down.

    Here’s the most useful book I’ve ever found on time management:

    “Leave The Office Earlier” by Laura Stack. You don’t even have to read the whole book. Simply skip to the tips where you have noted you need the most help. Over the years I have incorporated them all.
  • VUA21
    VUA21 Posts: 2,072 Member
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    Single mom, 42, full-time student working on my PhD. Coffee is my soulmate.

    One of my best "tricks" is to pack my lunches that include extra snacks as needed. I just pack my lunch when I'm packing my kiddos. Because I have my lunch with me that includes snacks, I have a nutrious alternative to all the snacks that abound meetings. Why is it always doughnuts?!?!?!

    I am also the master of 30 minute dinners: steam in the bag veggies are awesome, I have a cast iron grill I can put on my stove top as grilling takes 1/4 of the time as baking (especially chicken!). I just put whatever meat I'm going to grill in a baggie with seasonings and marinade in the fridge in the morning or night before, and it's ready to go!
  • RebelAnneDoll
    RebelAnneDoll Posts: 7 Member
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    35 year old mother of one 7 year old, work 40-60 hours a week, working on my MA, competitive costumer, and still trying to maintain some kind of social life while also suffering from fibromyalgia. I try to find shortcuts. For breakfast I grab coffee and oatmeal from the mcdonalds next to my son’s school, at work I park further away and take the stairs, lunch is leftovers or a peanut butter and banana sandwich with raw fruits and veggies, then I only cook dinner (or my husband does) or we have a cereal night. This is low calorie and fairly healthy with minimal time commitment. I also have an elliptical of sorts that I can do sitting at a desk or standing so I can exercise while doing homework or something else. I’m also thinking about requesting a standing desk for work.
  • hapa11
    hapa11 Posts: 182 Member
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    I am a mom of 3 and run two small businesses. A few years ago one of the products I sell was featured in a magazine and my sales increased 6-fold for about a year. I was ridiculously busy and stopped working out for the first 6 months. After that I decided that my mental and physical well being was worth something, so I made time to work out for an hour a day, even though sometimes it meant getting up at 4 and working a couple hours before getting the kids off to school. Somehow the work still got done--maybe I was more focused, knowing I was going to take that hour? For some reason it worked and I felt a million times better.

    TL;DR--Make it a priority and the rest will fall into place.
  • ecrosby512
    ecrosby512 Posts: 55 Member
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    I didn’t. Had to drop some commitments in order to stay healthy. I was so busy/stressed that I made myself sick, and that was not doing anyone any good- kids, partner, workmates, customers included.
  • Safari_Gal
    Safari_Gal Posts: 888 Member
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    @HeatherTB2012 - did you find a way to get some time for you?

    Perhaps the more you feed your health - the more energy you will have to balance all the responsibilities. It seems overwhelming sometimes- but if you want to make some changes for yourself- now is the time!

    When I am too tired for the gym - I do some exercises at home - plank, squats. Even 20 minutes. If that doesn’t work/ food choices and calorie counting- that can be done with no extra work! It’s just making choices that fit your needs.

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