How do you find time to exercise as a busy, working mom?

When you are a busy, working mom, it can be difficult to find time to fit exercise into your schedule. Having good time management skills can be helpful if you want to have time to exercise, in addition to all the other things that you need to do.

Do you like to go to the gym? Go for walks? Take fitness classes? Exercise at home?

All of these can be different options that you consider as you try to plan your fitness into the rest of your routine.

Personally, I love to do yoga or go for long walks outside. In addition to the fitness benefits of these types of exercise, it also helps me to relax and unwind during the day.

Considerations When Choosing a Fitness Option

There are many things you will want to consider when you are choosing a fitness option that will work with your schedule. You will want to find something that will easily fit into your day, so that your exercise will easily be accommodated in the rest of your schedule.

You will want to consider which times of the day are the busiest for you already. This way, you can choose another time which isn't so busy to fit in your exercise routine. This may depend on your work schedule, as well as your child's schedule. For example, if you are busy in the morning, you may want to do your exercise over your lunch.

Also, you will want to consider whether you work inside or outside the home. For example, if you work from home, you may want to exercise at home or go for a walk. If you work in an office, there may be a gym nearby where you can go to work out solo or attend a class.

Then, you will want to consider your childcare options. If you like to go to a gym, there may be one nearby that has free or low cost childcare options. If you don't have childcare available, then you may want to exercise at home early in the morning, late at night, or when your children take their naps.

Another option is to exercise with your kids. You could go for walks or hikes together, play a group sport, or go swimming. This will depend on the age of your child, and their interests as well.

Finally, consider the types of exercise that you like to do. If you are going to stay motivated to continue with a fitness program, it is important for you to find something that is fun for you to do.

Start Small

When you are first beginning a new habit, it is easier to maintain small changes to your routine.

So, for example, you could start with 10 minutes a day of yoga, a short walk on your lunch, or a fitness class for an hour once a week.

If you overcommit your time right off the bat, you are less likely to stick with a program. That means, you probably don't want to commit to an hour class every day at 5am, for example. It is unlikely that this is going to be sustainable for you right away.

It is a good goal to work up to exercising half an hour a day, but starting small will make it more doable if you are already really busy. If you commit to 10 minutes a day for a couple of weeks, then you will build the habit into your day.

Then, when you are used to working out for 10 minutes, you can move up to 15. Gradually increasing the amount of time that you spend on your exercise routine will make sure that you can fit it into your schedule. This can also ensure that you aren't physically exerting yourself too much so that you pull a muscle or something from pushing too hard too fast.

I know that when we are wanting to change things in our lives, we want to do everything right now. But in the long term making goals that are too difficult right off the bat just sets us up for failure.

Here are some 10-minute exercise videos to get you started:

Block Out Your Calendar

In order to make your fitness program a regular habit, it is important to block out time for this in your calendar. You can do this using a paper calendar or date book, or with a schedule planning app like Outlook or Google Calendar.

Make your fitness a priority. If something else comes up during that time, it is OK to say no. Commitments to yourself are just as important as commitments to others. If this isn't possible, move your exercise for the day to another time.

If you don't have a scheduling app already, this is a great time to get one, and plan out your whole schedule, not just your exercise routine. Organizing your schedule can do a lot of good, and help you to ensure that you are completing the tasks that are most important to you on a daily basis.

For more on schedule planning, you can check out:

Create a family schedule in these 6 easy steps

How to better prioritize your time as a working mom

Conclusion

You can fit fitness into your schedule if you consider what else you need to do and plan accordingly. Then, choose a program that you will find fun. Start small. Finally, block out time on your calendar so that the time will be set aside as if for another appointment.

If you want more information of types of exercises to choose from, check out:

Do you want to exercise post-partum?

Walking is easy exercise

Do you want to start a yoga practice?

When you start working out for 10 minutes a day, it is a habit that you can easily fit into your schedule and expand upon as you get used to working out.

I wish you all the best of luck with your fitness routine! Let me know in the comments if you have questions, or if there are additional fitness topics that you would like me to cover in the future!

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