Maximising Time to Fit in Your Exercise
Time to read: 2-3 mins
It's 5.45am, my usual running time, and I'm attempting to leave the house quietly, the perfect escape as my son and wife are asleep and I have a small time slot to hit the road. As I close the front door, I hear the crippling noise of my son start crying. I’m 12 months into parenthood and know it's not fair to go, so close the door and head up to get him. After all, it's my assigned role in the house that week, so I trade a run for baby shark and milk, on repeat.
In this example the run never happened, after a long day at work there was zero in the tank to go out and complete it. That instance had become all too familiar and I became curious about how others coped with this. After a positive experience with a running buggy during paternity leave I found instagram magically read my mind and it started serving me adverts for running backpacks for commuters. This was perfect timing as I had a 50 mins commute in London via tube each way and I could reinvest this time into exercise. After realising that carrying towels, wash bags as well as laptops was too much for the backpack and being a sweaty mess at the office was already common without exercise, I started to plot it for the return leg home.
After a month, I found a 60 minute weekly run from thin air! It cost me 10 mins extra than the commute but resulted in a massive double win. Making a commute valuable and giving me more energy when I got home to see the family. It also opened my eyes to the city I live in. By running home, I found new areas I hadn't been in for years, and it gave me an opportunity to unwind and destress in a new way. Escape, but not a negative one, one that arrived at home on time, feeling great.
Being flexible with my time to maximise fitness was a key unlock and made me review other ways to create space for movement. Nursery drop off could be followed by a 30 minute run and still have me ready to go to my home office by 9am, another golden period I didn't know existed. I’m lucky that my work is good at taking lunch at the same time (12-1pm) and again I could reuse some of this to do some form of movement. Before I knew it, I could get back to even more of the fitness time I wanted whilst being a working dad.
Throughout this process, time and its value became a driving force of success. I would recommend you read this article on the value of time, as it helps you identify and expand your time. What you do to move is irrelevant, any type of movement you enjoy will create high levels of positive energy, an hour run post work commuting home is one of my greatest sources.
Zoe’s response
When River was 18 months old I bit the bullet and bought a peloton. It was expensive but if I could use it a couple of times a week I knew it would be worth it.
It turns out to be one of the best purchases I’ve ever made in my life. I use it around 5 times a week and am able to fit in 15/20 minute classes between meetings or even when River is in bed upstairs. The impact that it has had on my physical and mental health has been wild, I would say I feel the fittest I have ever felt and by finding an exercise I love I have hugely improved my mental state too. Greg and our son both receive the benefit or a happier, fitter mum!
I appreciate not everyone has the money or space for a peloton but think about an alternative, something that you can just do in short bursts at home and easily squeeze between meetings or chores. Changing your mindset up from only exercising when you have a whole hour to maximising just 15 minutes is a key unlock here!
TAKEAWAYS:
Being flexible when you exercise is critical. Accept & embrace some elements of your pre-parenthood routine will change.
Find the low hanging time fruit that exists. Do you need to commute by public transport or can you find your own way there on foot or bike. There is space, you just need to find it.
You have more energy not less after incorporating movement. It has a fantastic multiplier impact on your mood. Happier you, better parent!
