Establishing a Routine

Let’s talk about establishing a routine and how to find the time for the things you say are important but never seem to happen.  

It is around this time of year that most people have completely abandoned or watered down their New Year’s goals.  I am here to tell you, you still have 5/6th of the year left.  Stop stopping yourself.  Let’s pick it up as if today was January 2nd.  

If you have known me for a bit you know that I have established a healthy fitness routine that works into my day.  If you knew me when I was in college or first started working, you would know that I did not have a routine and my fitness was so hit or miss.  Well 4 years ago, in November of all months I decided enough was enough.  I was no longer going to let this “priority” never get accomplished.  I developed a routine that helped me be consistent. This has served me on the days where my internal motivation was lacking.  

Now let’s pause for a second. This is my story on how I found and developed a fitness routine to serve my goals.  You can use/apply this to not only fitness but whatever goal you are looking to achieve.  Just know that it is consistency over time that allows you to accomplish your goals.  

Find a Time of Day

When I decided to commit to my fitness (4 years ago- full story here), I was lost as to when I would find the time to workout.  I was working a 10hr+/day job and commuting 2.5 hours.  Life was busy and I rarely came home at the end of the day with any energy to do anything but pick up take out on my way home. 

Then I started to ask myself when was the time of day where I felt in the most control?  My answer was before work.   After work always was a different time, I never knew what late meeting or work obligation would pop up at the last minute.  I did not want to wake up any earlier but I didn’t see any other time where I could make this a daily habit. 

Make a Short Commitment

Committing to a 21-day program, I decided for 3 weeks I was going to wake up each morning at 5:30 am (instead of my previous 7 am alarm).  I would drag myself out of bed, chug my go-go juice, head down to my cold garage and stream my on-demand workout.  30 minutes later I would be back upstairs to jump in the shower, make my shake for breakfast and head out of the house by 7:20 am to walk 1 mile to the train.  Yes, I was tired.  No, not every day was a joyful occasion but I did it.  I found myself going to bed a little earlier and over the 3 weeks, it became less of a “have to do”  and more of a this is just my routine.  I was consistent with this routine for 2 years.  

Be Flexible

After my son was born, things changed, and often I was no longer the one in control of my mornings.  At times it felt like I was not in control of my day at all.  When my son was an infant, I would workout during his nap time.  Then when he started needing me to hold him for him to nap, I would work out with him laying on a play mat doing tummy time in my garage.  Now that he is literally all over the place, working out with him is even more challenging.  Sometimes he will join me and I fully expect that I will have to pause and play and give snuggles and then finish.  Now that he is sleeping more consistently at night (I said more… it’s not perfect) I am able to get back to my cherished 5:30 am routine.

Be Open to Change

I fully expect to have to evolve and adjust again when this new baby arrives.  When will my workout happen?  I am honestly not sure.  Will it happen? YES.  For me, this is a non-negotiable.  It is my small 30-minute window where I pour into myself so that I can in turn pour into my family.  It is a priority because I know how much benefit it provides me mentally and physically. 

I foresee that once I have my new routine established, it will change again.  That’s just the name of the game with motherhood and life.  I am just grateful that I have the opportunity to stream my workouts from home and the ability to plug into a community with other women who get it.

If you are looking for a fitness routine that fits into your life and can be done from literally anywhere, check out the virtual fit club! I literally do these workouts everywhere: the gym, my parents’ home, my hotel room in Italy for our honeymoon, the living room while my son plays, you name it.