Finding the time
It’s 2018 and this world of ours has gotten so much faster in all aspects of life! At least for adults anyway; pretty sure my kids think time stands still when they are doing something they do not want to do. From house duties, work schedules, kids’ schedules, all the miscellaneous things in between, it can be difficult to find time to breathe, to eat, to just be! And here I am planning on talking about the 86,400 seconds in a day that we all are given each day. Add to that, that a study was done to calculate how many hours a mom (I’m going to say parent, because Dad’s need to be included too), how many hours the primary parent puts in per week. An astounding 98 hours! (I refuse to debate whether this was SAHM or outside the home working parent; as it will detract from my point.) Anyway, 98 flippin’ hours! HOLY CRAP!
Pretty sure most of us can attest to this being correct for most of the week. So how in the hell do you find 30-60minutes of much needed ME time? From personal experience as well as researching what other crazy, chaotic, busy parent does; SCHEDULE IT! Schedule it and DO NOT STRAY FROM IT!!! It is the most important appointment you have in your day. WHY? Because if you are not relieving your stress, your tension, keeping your health in check, then what good are you to those that need you most?
We all know what happens when the primary parent gets sick, injured, (or escapes…just kidding..well…) everything goes to hell and a handbasket (what does that mean anyway, my mom always said it! Lol) *
“To be ‘going to hell in a handbasket’ is to be rapidly deteriorating – on course for disaster.” Thank you phrase finder.org
Unfortunately, we do not put ourselves first. We end up not valuing our health, our sanity, our relationships as much as we should. So, what can you do about it. If you are truly serious about making an honest effort, no excuses and no complaining, there is a way.
First off, you need to know what you would actually do during this time (no, sleeping is not your option). It needs to be something that can relieve your stress, ease your tension, impact your health in a positive manner (so no, a glass of wine/beer/cocktail is not an option here either) a great example is exercise! Any kind for that matter, just get moving, stretching, biking, hiking, something that gets the blood moving, the endorphins flowing, and takes your mind off your task list.
Now that you know what activity it is (MABFIT OPT http://www.mabfit.net/opt is a fabulous option here) look at your day planner, your google calendar, whatever it is you use to schedule your day. There are gaps in there, because none of us are awake and working, traveling, or changing diapers 24/7. Does this mean you may have to rearrange a few things, YES. Does this mean you may have to wake up a little earlier, YES. Does this mean you may have to pay the baby sitter an hour extra, YES. Does this mean you may end up missing your favorite Netflix show, YES. Will it be worth it, HELL YES!
You’ve got the time, you just need to value yourself, and make YOURSELF IMPORTANT enough to take care of your well being. NO excuses remember? No classes at the gym at the time you can go, guess what? Yep, Online Personal Training. That stuff is available ANYTIME, done ANYWHERE. (please, do not tell me that the “diet” you are following says no exercise required. Fantastic, let your muscle atrophy (this means waste away), let your heart health go by the way side, your bone health spike to osteoporosis, oh and the fountain of youth …yeah that…it’s found via EXERCISE!) Here’s a complete list with descriptions in case you forgot all the benefits of exercise https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/fulfillment-any-age/201205/19-reasons-exercise
1. Stronger Bones
2. Build muscle mass
3. Reduce your body fat
4. Healthy Immune system
5. Lowers risk of Type 2 diabetes
6. Reduces blood pressure
7. Aerobic capacity
8. Boosts energy
9. Reduces risk of arthritis
10. Improves sex life
Now that you have an idea on how you CAN take better care of yourself, why not start today. You always put yourself last, it’s time to put yourself first for one lousy hour a day that can change the way you handle stressful situations, make you more pleasant to be around, that actually gives you more energy, gives you an overall “good” feeling about yourself. (when was the last time you felt that?)
If you honestly do not have a whole 60 minutes, guess what? You can get all the benefits in 30 minutes.
To all the moms, dads, caregivers, busy/chaotic/stressful life people; make the most important decision for yourself, and that is VALUE YOURSELF enough to take care of YOU!
DO THE WORK!
MABFIT