This is a guest post from Cathy, a mom of two young boys, wife, and full-time attorney. She writes about family finances, cooking, and parenting at Chief Family Officer.
At the beginning of 2008, I never worked out. I have two young boys, and working out just wasn't a priority. But then Go Workout Mom started Goal Call Mondays, encouraging readers to post a health-related goal for the week, and to report back the following Monday. I thought it would kind of fun to join in, and that surely I could find the time to work out once that week.
And I did! My husband took the kids out for an hour and I used that time to hop on the treadmill. I kept the same goal for the following week and discovered that I could work out during the kids? bedtime, after I got my youngest into bed, while my husband read books with our oldest. After a few weeks, I increased my commitment to one cardio workout and one yoga workout each week.
Then, in the middle of March, my husband promised our oldest that we would go to a water park during the summer. I couldn't see how this could possibly go well unless I was willing to get wet - which, of course, meant that I would have to wear a swimsuit. In public.
Suddenly, working out became a real priority. And I had shown myself that I could find the time to work out if it was really important to me. A typical day for me is to wake up at 5:00, head out to work at 6:00, and arrive home at 5:00 p.m. Then it's dinner time, bath time and book time. Until March, I used the rest of my evening to blog at ChiefFamilyOfficer.com, as well as manage my family's finances and other assorted activities. I couldn?t cut back anywhere except blogging, so that's what I've given up.
I still blog, but spend less time on it than I used to. And that's okay. For the last two months, I've worked out almost every day. My goal is to exercise every day, although I've missed a day here and there. I tell myself that missing one workout isn't a big deal - it's only a problem if I use it as an excuse to stop exercising altogether.
I now realize that I could have found the time to work out all along, if I'd only been willing to trade some of my blogging time for sweating time. So if you think that you don't have the time to work out, I'm willing to bet it's because you're not looking hard enough.
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This is a guest post from Cathy, a mom of two young boys, wife, and full-time attorney. She writes about family finances, cooking, and parenting at Chief Family Officer.
At the beginning of 2008, I never worked out. I have two young boys, and working out just wasn't a priority. But then Go Workout Mom started Goal Call Mondays, encouraging readers to post a health-related goal for the week, and to report back the following Monday. I thought it would kind of fun to join in, and that surely I could find the time to work out once that week.
And I did! My husband took the kids out for an hour and I used that time to hop on the treadmill. I kept the same goal for the following week and discovered that I could work out during the kids? bedtime, after I got my youngest into bed, while my husband read books with our oldest. After a few weeks, I increased my commitment to one cardio workout and one yoga workout each week.
Then, in the middle of March, my husband promised our oldest that we would go to a water park during the summer. I couldn't see how this could possibly go well unless I was willing to get wet - which, of course, meant that I would have to wear a swimsuit. In public.
Suddenly, working out became a real priority. And I had shown myself that I could find the time to work out if it was really important to me. A typical day for me is to wake up at 5:00, head out to work at 6:00, and arrive home at 5:00 p.m. Then it's dinner time, bath time and book time. Until March, I used the rest of my evening to blog at ChiefFamilyOfficer.com, as well as manage my family's finances and other assorted activities. I couldn?t cut back anywhere except blogging, so that's what I've given up.
I still blog, but spend less time on it than I used to. And that's okay. For the last two months, I've worked out almost every day. My goal is to exercise every day, although I've missed a day here and there. I tell myself that missing one workout isn't a big deal - it's only a problem if I use it as an excuse to stop exercising altogether.
I now realize that I could have found the time to work out all along, if I'd only been willing to trade some of my blogging time for sweating time. So if you think that you don't have the time to work out, I'm willing to bet it's because you're not looking hard enough.