Anytime I’ve shared my wellness journey over the years, I have heard things like “wow, I could never get up early to workout” or “eating healthy takes more money and more time to prep” or “My [husband/wife] doesn’t help with kids enough so I can’t workout”. Warning, this post comes with a bit of tough love. You’re going to make time for the things that are important to you. Depending on the season of life you are in, you might be able to wake up every day at the same time, head to work, go to the gym afterwards (or check it off first thing in the morning), meal prep on the weekends, and have smooth sailing for keeping a wellness routine as a priority because it fits well in your schedule. This post may be worth a scroll for you, but probably not. That’s not my life right now. This post is for those who are in the thick of it with kids. To those who seemingly are unable to find time to care for themselves amidst the chaos. Here are a few actions that have helped me navigate the ever changing waters of life and find time again for movement and nutrition:
l learned about my energy levels
A question was posed to me some years ago of “when do you feel your best for movement?” My immediate answer was morning. My body knew that. I knew that. I’m a morning person through and through so it makes sense for me to want to move first thing when I’m operating at my best. It triggered a thought in me about organized sports. Growing up, most seasons I had a sport to participate in after school. For example, during soccer season, the time right after school, about 3 pm – 5 pm for most of Middle and High school, was dedicated to practice or games. I was not a fan of running during this stage of life and never felt great moving my body then. I can’t help but wonder if practice was first thing in the morning if I would have enjoyed it more? Been able to feel good because that is my body’s preferred time to move? I’ll never know and I don’t think most kids will because organized sports happening at 6 am are likely not a thing in the future. But how do I use this knowledge now? Well, I prioritize movement first in my day. I’m going to spell this out loud and clear, it doesn’t work every day. I have two kids who sometimes interrupt my sleep. Sometimes they need to be my priority in the morning if they are up early. But I generally can say, I move my body every morning. And after consistently making time for this (yes, this includes waking up earlier than my family), I know how to find the time later in the day if morning doesn’t work out. Those days, I need to use my voice to tell my spouse that I will need time later to move. It’s not always ideal, but he knows it’s important to me and sees the positive impact movement has on my overall well being.
Using my voice
As with any new habit you are trying to change, it is important to tell the people around you why you are doing it and how they can help support you. Not necessarily tell the world, but tell those in your life who are your key support system. If you are in the boat of “My husband/wife doesn’t help with the kids so I can’t workout”, I’ll ask the question to you: Have you told them your desire to move your body more and asked them to help you make time? They may not understand at first. I realize I have a supportive partner and he will generally help when I ask. However there is a trade off too. I wake up early to get my movement in so I don’t have to ask for more time later. He is not a morning person at all. So waking up to help with the girls if I am out on a run is not his cup of tea. But he does it because he knows movement is important to me and I have consistently shown that it is a priority. The first step though, was using my voice. I was constantly frustrated for quite a while when he wouldn’t roll out of bed to help with the girls. That the expectation was that I was up, so I could stop what I was doing and get them. Then we talked about it. I started telling him why it was important to me and eventually he came on board. What’s important to you is not important to everyone. Your goals are yours alone. Anyone else in your life can support you in reaching them, but at the end of the day, you need to use your voice to ask for support if you need it.
You’re going to make time for the things that are important to you.
Think about your day. We only have set amount of free time. If you were to track your time right now every day, what would your tracking show is important to you? Not what SHOULD be important, but what habits are you doing right now that essentially demonstrate through time spent, are important to you. Is your phone showing your spend 2 hours on social media every day? Is that important to you or can awareness help you reallocate some of that time to movement? Or think about a vacation that you really want to take. You plan the time off at work. You plan the logistics to get there. And then you make it happen and enjoy it. You are going to MAKE time to take that trip because that is important for you. If health & wellbeing are important to you, are you making time for it?
Consistency builds confidence
As I’ve shared in my other blog posts, I am completing 1 intentional mile every day. I didn’t know the impact it would have on my life when I decided to do it, but this little activity of consistency is changing my perspective in many ways. But the number 1 thing that I am noticing is that the consistency of this daily habit is building my confidence. I see what I can do when I make a commitment to myself AND keep it. It’s a tool that is teaching me that I can always find time to fit in this movement practice, because it is important to me.
Need a consistency boost? Check out my Free Intentional Mile group on Facebook. I’d love to walk with you! If that’s not your thing and you’re ready to try other intentional movement, connect with me on Facebook via Messenger or below in the comments and I will email you with options.