Learn How To Beat The Clock

Time. We sing about it. Talk about it. Obsess about it slipping away. Attempt to manage it with one gadget or another; all in hopes of gaining some modicum of control. But ultimately we all only have 24 hours in a day. Ugh, that was so cliché. But it’s true! We all have a full 24 hours to whatever we want! Isn’t that amazing?!  Sure, some of those precious hours get soaked up by sleep. Or if you’re like me, you’re up at 3 am for whatever reason your body chemistry is cooking up, but that is another post for another day. 

When I finally committed to regular workouts I naturally defaulted to the morning. And I mean like the sun isn’t even awake yet morning. I was up at 4am and off to the gym in order to be home by 6:15am to help the kids before school. It was grueling but I kept it up for more than two years!  Then one day I decided I was tired of getting up so early. I convinced myself that I could sneak a few more winks of sleep and still get in my exercise. I adopted an evening workout, hitting the gym after work and even after I had fixed dinner.

It worked. Kind of.

It was the typical honeymoon phase at first. I reveled in the extra sleep. It was glorious! But then I started making excuses when it came time to work out.  I’m tired. This kid needs me to do that. Kody and I want to go see a movie. And I can’t forget the classic I’ll work out extra hard tomorrow.  Guess how many times that happened?

Zero.

Eventually one day became two and two became three. I was losing stamina while gaining the pounds that I had fought so hard to shed.

Then I woke up – again. (Yes, it seems I am constantly relearning what I already know). I remembered how consistent I had been when I was working out in the mornings. So I did what any insane person would do. I set my alarm back to 4am. And guess what? I got back on track. 

The moral of my story is this: what time commitments do you have to make in order to stick to a routine? For me it was realizing when I could realistically carve out time without being derailed. Is 4am ideal? For my sleep-worshipping side, absolutely not. But for the side of me that likes to achieve the goals I set for myself, 100% YES.

People have told me that their mornings are too crazy so they work out at lunch or on the way home from work. Those sound like awesome plans!  The key is figuring out what time really works for you and committing to it. Even if it means you have to get up with the roosters, or haul your gym clothes to work, or even clear out your living room to sweat with the oldies. Remember when I said it wouldn’t be easy, but it would be worth it?

This is what I was talking about. You have to make a plan and COMMIT.

What are your biggest struggles with time? We’re here to help you find the time you need to meet your goals.