How the fit mom with no time copes

Time. Time! Who has time? I feel hyper-time crunched now that I’m back to work. Which is a good thing, because my days felt a little slow and empty when I was at home on maternity leave. But also, like, did I seriously think that it would be easier to have a regular workout routine when I was also working 8 hours a day?

I’m not complaining. Other people have higher pressure jobs and more kids and they still find time to workout. And sleep.

Also, I know it’s not forever. Everyone tells me that these years will be gone before I know it.

Gratuitous sleeping baby photo

Gratuitous sleeping baby photo

Here are my strategies for keeping sane:

The 20-minute workout

I read somewhere, probably in Runners World but I can’t find the link to it, that if you don’t have a lot of time, just putting your shoes on and exercising hard for 20 minutes will convey all sorts of health benefits over not exercising at all, or even exercising slower for longer.

So that’s what I’ve been doing. I know that leaving my house for 40 minutes is a near impossible feat with a newborn.

This was hard for me to adjust to. I don’t like to push myself to work at a very intense level – plus, it sounds like more of a brag to say you’ve run farther or longer than to push yourself to run faster.

But even after 20 minutes I feel like a hot productive mess.

Only Hold it Once

Remember it: OHIO. Once I spent the mental energy to start something, either delegate it, file it, or finish it. Because the energy spent thinking about it again is wasted.

The flip side to this is not holding something in the first place. It makes it a lot easier to just let that which you cannot finish … go.

Protect your sleep like your life depends on it

I was up at 4 a.m. with a newborn this morning.

So I’ve started going to bed at 8 p.m.  I think it might be years before I start socializing at night again.

Hey! Want to keep up with the my latest stories about a new mom staying fit? Like my page on Facebook :).

 

 

Pattie Reaves

About Pattie Reaves

I'm a new mom and renegade fitness blogger at After the Couch. I live in Brewer with my husband, Tony, our daughter Felicity, and our two pugs, Georgia and Scoop.