Need help finding time in my day... (Example)

TJ_Rugger
TJ_Rugger Posts: 166 Member
in Motivation and Support
My challenge is finding the time, this is what I need help with.
Today:
0515 - Get up and walk dogs around the block. Fold laundry & start new load. Feed dogs. Shower and get dressed. Help get my son ready for school.
0615 - We all leave the house and I drive 2 hours to customer site.
0800 - Working at customer site all day.
1215 - Walking two blocks grabbing pizzas for the engineering team for lunch.
1530 - Begin the 2 hour drive home.
1700 - Get home and help my son with his homework before his Church class at 6.
1545 - Leave for Church class and then get back home.
1815 - Make myself something to eat for supper in the fridge
1820 - Go back to my office to begin filling out license requirements for my new business.
1900 - Go pick up my son from Church
1930 - Get home and begin the bath and bed routine with my son and then he reads me his story before bed.
2015 - Return my office to fill out reports for my main job for meetings at 0730 tomorrow.
2130 - Shut down and begin to crawl in bed so I might be able to get 7 hours of sleep before starting all over again tomorrow.

I need help getting in time to workout.

Replies

  • Lietchi
    Lietchi Posts: 6,826 Member
    Well, commuting for 4 hours is eating up a whole chunk of your time, so I hope that new business you're working on will give you more time (less commute)?

    Honestly, I feel tired just reading this :smile:

    My main ideas would be:
    - a desk treadmill/desk bike for when you're doing paperwork at home
    - trying to fit in exercise on weekends (hopefully less grueling schedule)

    I also wonder what your goal is for your exercise?
    Is it weight-loss? The main factor is food intake - it's great for your health to exercise, but it's not strictly necessary for weight-loss.
    If you're aiming for specific goals (gaining muscle, cardio goals like training for a 5K) then obviously actual exercise sessions will be necessary.
    But if the goal is simply to be more active and/or burn a few more calories, there are little things you can do: stairs instead of elevator, etc. Some ideas here: https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10610953/neat-improvement-strategies-to-improve-weight-loss/p1
  • TJ_Rugger
    TJ_Rugger Posts: 166 Member
    Yeah so my typical commute is not 4 hours, but my traveling for work is not uncommon.

    The new business we're starting is mainly for my wife and I'm running the paperwork & financials.

    I often am active on the weekends, golf, mountain biking, yard work, generally being outdoors. However, the weekend activity doesn't offset the week.

    My goal is overall 20-30# weight loss, which will help with the herniated disc in my back. Unfortunately when I did that in 2022, it significantly restricted my weightlifting. I'm having to start all over with focus on form again.

    Diet is hard to get my family on the same diet, but I'm working on gradual changes.

    I'll check out the link too, thanks for posting it.
  • xbowhunter
    xbowhunter Posts: 1,237 Member
    Ditch the church class! :0)

  • LiveOnceBeHappy
    LiveOnceBeHappy Posts: 448 Member
    You do not need to exercise to lose weight. Until things settle down, focus only on your food. Ask for help with the running of your son to and from church school and his other activities. I assume that's not every night. Meal prep on the weekend.

    If the two-hour commute is expected to be for years, move your residence closer to it. That does not sound sustainable. If you're worried about your son and change, I'm sure he'd rather have you around more and less exhausted. Kids are resilient, and he will make new friends.
  • LiveOnceBeHappy
    LiveOnceBeHappy Posts: 448 Member
    xbowhunter wrote: »
    Ditch the church class! :0)

    That is extraordinarily unhelpful to OP. Obviously it's important to them.
  • TJ_Rugger
    TJ_Rugger Posts: 166 Member
    The commute is not every day, but I have to travel all over VA & NC so really moving isn't an option, plus we just moved in 2022 and during that move I herniated a disc... so I ain't moving again! HA

    And my wife and I do take turns running him around to the various things he/we have to go to.

    I really do need to focus more of meal prep.

    Even when I do not have to travel, we're still leaving the house at 6:30am and I'm getting home between 4:30 & 5:30 and then our evenings are homework for my son, dinner with the family, and trying to get him down to bed between 7 & 8. Then trying to spend some time with my wife when I don't have to work up in my office.

    I'm trying to carve out some time in the evenings... it's just hard.

    But I appreciate most of the comments and just looking for a bit of cheering on.

    If anyone has a rich uncle that is getting ready to pass on and needs another heir to will some money to, please DM me! HAHA
  • xbowhunter
    xbowhunter Posts: 1,237 Member
    LiveOnceBeHappy wrote: »
    xbowhunter wrote: »
    Ditch the church class! :0)

    That is extraordinarily unhelpful to OP. Obviously it's important to them.

    Says you! The OP asked how to free up time to exercise and it's the obvious the obvious waste of precious time!
  • whimsy38
    whimsy38 Posts: 158 Member
    So, I see walking dogs and walking to get Pizza, and with some tweaks laundry and kid time could get more vigorous and excercisey.

    Other comments are correct, exercise isn't necessary. I've lost 50 lbs and kept it off with no regular exercise beyond normal daily activity. The game changer was learning to eat when I'm actually hungry and eating to about 80% full. There was figuring out why I might be eating outside of that goal.

    Stress and overwhelm can trigger poor eating patterns, so you might consider some meditative, grounding time as more beneficial than adding more activity to a packed schedule.
  • 1BlueAurora
    1BlueAurora Posts: 439 Member
    My thoughts: (1) walk around the church neighborhood while your son is at church class to decompress from your traveling and get in that low impact exercise; (2) make a number of re-heatable meals on the weekend so you don't have to do meal prep during the week; stews, soups, boiled eggs and vegetables to cut up for salads; (3) hand off the new business details to your wife. You said that the new business is for her and you're doing the licensing and financials. Why? If it's her business, she'll have to learn to run it herself and learning these new skills will take some burden off of you and give her some pride in her accomplishments. She'll gain confidence that "her" business can be a success with minimum input from you.

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