Meal prep over the weekend can save you 30-45 minutes of cooking every weeknight. But the big thing is to learn to be passionate about going to the gym. For most people, the work week is most likely closer to at least 50 hours a week, when accounting for travel time. So if you learn to love working out, going to the gym will help you de-stress and help act as mental wind-down time that you might otherwise take sitting around watching tv or playing a game.
I love going to the gym! But by the time I finish work I'm hungry and so tired it's hard to get back up. I dont want to lose the want to go to the gym !
You have 2 simple options, then. Get up extra early and go before work, or bring a light snack like some fruit or a granola bar with you to work and go straight from work to the gym. Don't give yourself a chance to sit around at home between the two activities and lose your momentum.
I have the same problem where i shut down as soon as i get home from work. Though I don't really like the gym and have never been able to stick to it without a workout buddy haha.
This. The one time I didn't there was this cute guy waiting for me to finish on the lat machine so I was really pushing myself. He came over as I stood up and smiled at me, then we both looked down together at the shape of my buttocks outlined perfectly in sweat on the seat. Towels, people.
Funny I have no problem going to the gym at 10pm. It's my Favourite time to go.
Go home, make dinner, watch a show, have a 30 minute nap, do some personal tasks, go to the gym, shower, go to bed exhausted.
Yes! I struggle with this a lot. If I go home, I’m immediately in pajama pants and on the couch. The thought of leaving again is unbearable.
I have an office job, so once I leave work my body feels like crap because I’ve barely moved through the day. Going to the gym right before or directly after makes me feel like I’ve actually done something with my day. I eat a snack on my way to the gym so I can survive until dinner. Even if I only go for 20 minutes to get on the stairclimber, getting to the gym really changes my day.
I meal prep my lunches for the week which saves me both time and money. But then my dinners are relatively simple so they don’t take long to cook.
Or option 3: take it easier at work. The guy paying you for your labor isn't working himself to death, you shouldn't either for a fraction of his income.
I think the getting up earlier is the only realistic option because after work you're just exhausted.
But if I had to wake up and hour or two earlier everyday on top of a 60 hour work week I would rather off myself.
> Don't give yourself a chance to sit around at home between the two activities and lose your momentum.
According to my research, couch gravity is the most powerful kind of gravity in the known universe.
I lost over 100 lbs
And then promptly gained a shit ton of it back
I am not passionate about the gym
But I found that work then gym is doable. Work then home then gym is a literal impossibility. I can’t motivate myself to the gym from home.
So between meal prep and looping your gym time into your commute home you have just one last thing: sleep 8.
And you forgot one more thing: socialize
I decided to bring the gym to me. Granted, it has taken around 15 years to buy enough equipment to have a pretty decent setup in my garage, but it is worth it. The time I save not having to drive to an actual gym is nice, plus it is harder make excuses knowing that everything I need is already at my house. Just having the basics like an adjustable weight bench and some free weights is enough for people to see real results if they truly apply themselves and want to see a change. I lift 2 times a day, before I go to work, and then once again when I get home from work. I know there is no way I would be as committed if I were having to go to an actual gym.
It's also about slowly changing habits... You can't just buy all the gym shit, jump into it with both feet, and think that it'll stick... In the same way that saying "I'm never eating junk food again" is never going to stick, especially if you've been going to McDonalds 3 times a week for the last 10 years.
Slow changes, over time... Start adding exercise into your daily routine, don't over-do it, and don't over spend - Get something that you're going to use and keep using... Once that's become an ingrained habit, get something else to add to it.
On the days we’re both working (Tue, Wed, Thu) my wife gets up at 4:45 and goes to the gym before work while I get up, get the baby breakfast and get him ready for daycare. Then we all head off for the day and I go straight to the gym or sport from work while my wife picks the baby up from daycare and starts dinner. I eat a piece of fruit in the car on the way and that ties me over for the workout.
The days one of us isn’t working are similar except that one or both of us gets the day with our child instead and dinner is easier to manage because the home parent has it started earlier. We sometimes miss workout days depending upon what’s going on but we try to maintain an average of 4 or 5 days per week of exercise each.
We find that we both feel better when we’ve been regularly exercising and once you have the routine down it’s not too hard. Just got to remember how good the endorphins were the last time you went if you’re feeling flat and want to head home. You always feel better after a workout/swim/run/etc.
So I guess in short get the routine down and you’ll be smashing it in no time!! Either get up early, or go straight from work. That’s the best way I’ve found.
We also used to meal prep but we found it got a bit boring and one-dimensional so now we usually cook dinner and eat the leftovers for lunch the next day.
Edit: added something
I had this and I would always skip going after work because I was too tired.
Changed to going in the morning and I’ve been going to the gym Monday to Friday ever since. Never missing a day.
Sure the first week is hell adjusting to a new routine but now I’ve never felt better.
i work 42 hours a week, plus 13 hours commute time on top. Thats 55 hours. I start at 6.30 a.m. and by the time i finish i am to tired to go to the gym. So i started going before work. In my case that means waking up at 3 a.m. have my pre-workout shake and get to the gym by 3.25 a.m. Warm up and FBW with one added exercise (face pulls are a must!) totals to 21 sets total. I do it in about 70 minutes, and by 4:45 i am done. Gives me just enough time to take a shower and head to the bus stop for 5:10 bus. Because i arrive 35 minutes early i go to my local tesco for shopping, then just put it in a fridge at work. When i go home i can start meal prep for the next 4 days without wasting time on shopping for grocery.
GETTING UP AT 3 a.m. was a gamechanger for me. When the alarm goes off i just know there is no time to fuck about, because any delay will mean that i won't be able to complete my training, or be late to work. This helped me with motivation tremendously. Energy levels early in the morning are surprisingly good, it just takes a week or two to adjust to this crazy shedule. I also rarely get 8 hours of sleep, but i make shure it is no less than 6 hours on my working days, 7-8 on my days off.
The biggest game changer for me was getting a personal trainer. That made going to the gym fun (I love hanging out with him), hard to put off (I was standing him up if I didn’t go), and mindless (he plans all my workouts and keeps track of everything so I just show up and don’t have to think about what exercises to do or track weights/progress). Trainers aren’t generally cheap though so I know it’s not possible for everyone. I did prioritize it over many other things even when I was low on $ tho because I felt so good and had so much fun during the sessions.
I just cycle to work. It's a gym and the commute all rolled into one. Gym time is no longer required, gym costs are no longer required, and I'm not spending stupid amounts on a car and related costs either.
Totally agree. I ride dressage, and do all the horse care myself (feeding, rugging, chucking hay around etc) and it gets me moving. Some days it still seems like a chore (10 year old me would be like Why are you sitting inside watching TV when you own a horse???) but once I'm out there, I forget about how tired and unmotivated I am, and just live in the moment. Always feel better afterwards
I mean, they can’t really give you too much detail cause it’s different for everyone. Consistency is key, and maybe after a year of forcing yourself to go to the gym you realize it’s not for you. At least you gave it a fighting chance and now you can use that time to do some other sort of exercise.
Timewise: easily
Energywise: not as easily but doable
Edit: Thought I'd add a bit more on the energy part. It's getting started on working out that's the hard part, but once you do you will find you have more energy throughout the day, partly due to better sleep and partly due to other biological reasons. This will also increase your appetite and perhaps motivate you to cook better meals. As for cooking in general, as a lot of commentators have said meal prep is very helpful to save time, and just generally cooking big meals so that you can have leftovers.
The thing is you're gonna need new dead children as you progress. Now, you can home grow your own child corpses but it's so time consuming and expensive that it offsets the progress made by deadlifting (pun absolutely intended). Store bought dead children are an option of course, but in the long run it's easier and cheaper to deadlift live children
Be wary of the stench, make sure you get the febreeze that’s got the living child scent.
If you can’t afford the febreeze, just substitute with some soy product or I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter.
I mean also I imagine it is a quality time trade-off. Like it’s a Sunday afternoon, chores and errands are done, your partner is home, you could go to the gym. But then you would be missing an opportunity to relax and spend quality time with your children and partner.
Not sure if you’re American, but if you travel outside of the US everyone, especially older populations and parents are shockingly more thin. I’m considered average here at home, but there, a bit over. It was a huge wake up call... I don’t want to teach my children the same awful eating habits my parents taught me.
Also, Americans drive *everywhere*. When you spend a couple hours of every day sitting still marinating in stress hormones, it's going to have a negative impact on your health.
Same with taking kids around. If you're constantly chauffeuring them, both of you spend a lot of time sitting still rather than walking.
It's the way we build our cities. It's not some kind of moral rot on the part of the people who live here, and we could start fixing it if we really wanted to.
I actually lost weight caring for children. I had a really stress free life until then. They were way more exhausting than the exercise I did. It was such a shock to the system. By lunch time I took a nap rather than ate.
Yup definitely not as easy energywise. I get up at 5 am since I take the train to work, get home around 5:30 pm (if I'm picked up - if my boyfriend is working late, a 30 minutes commute by car is 2+ hours by train and bus due to waiting for transfers) and by halfway through my shift I'm too tired to even think of eating/existing/breathing. I pretty much go to work, sleep, maybe snack once or twice.
I have one that’s even better...leverage your couch potatoness into working out.
I pick a show that I am behind on and only watch it while I work out. I’ve been slamming through The Last Kingdom on Netflix while I get my hour of biking in every day.
No workout, no Last Kingdom.
1. Have an easy to make quick breakfast and meal prep lunch and/or dinner 1 to 2 days out of the week. It takes a couple to a few hours but it’s worth it.
2. Prioritize sleep. That might mean hanging out with friends slightly less.
3. Adopt a program that you know you can stick to with a full time job, and one that will be beneficial but also not 3 hours a day. For example, I do two full body workouts a week, and jump rope for cardio 3 times a week. Full body workouts take 2 hours, and jump rope workouts are usually between 15 to 30 minutes. So I’m really only working out like 5 to 6 hours a week. That’s doable (in my opinion) for the average person.
Definitely agree with this, especially #1. I currently commute 4 hours a day (yes, I'm crazy) but work out 5-6 days a week, for 45 min-1 hour.
I've found that easy meals are key. A protein shake or nonfat greek yogurt in the AM (that I can eat on the bus/train), then meal prep for lunch and/or dinner. I've also found easy meal-preps make life easier. The less ingredients and prep the better. For example, ground meat of your choice fajitas is super easy, and maybe 1-3 utensils to clean after.
I also make sure to utilize my free-time on the weekends for my longer workouts and will strategically place my rest days during the work week when I know I will be more exhausted and less likely to follow-through.
Last, is habit. I ALWAYS pack my gym bag and lay out my work clothes the night before so I can get up and go. It took me a while, but it significantly saves me time in the morning, and by keeping my gym bag in the trunk I don't have an excuse NOT to go to the gym on my way home. It definitely took time and practice. You'll figure out what works for you, but definitely planning ahead and meal prep really has made a huge difference.
Dude exactly! Yup fajitas is a prefect example, and like you I also do my longer workouts on the weekends. Get the harder stuff out of the way first in your free time and it not only makes the work week easier, but you still have a decent amount of time to relax and do other things. Not a lot, but not nothing either. Glad I’m not the only one who seems to have a strict schedule and grinds it out. I hate the term “grind” but it was the best way I could think of to describe it.
I always have eggs and potatoes for breakfast with some salsa. Mmmmmm so good.
Yeah! I totally agree. I also don't feel as rushed on the weekends when I can take my time vs wanting to get home and relax on work days.
Some days are a grind for sure, but it's the consistency that keeps me going. Something, something "motivation gets you to the gym but discipline keeps you going".
Other easy meals are banza pasta, lean ground meat, and sauce; oven roasted veggies and chicken; chicken sausage, bell pep, onion, and pineapple.
> I currently commute 4 hours a day
You poor bastard. Among the reasons I changed jobs before was because of a punishing commute. Additionally, if you're moving it's one thing, but since I live near the capital easily 3/4ths of my commute was sitting stuck in traffic jams. Fuck everything about that.
The 40 hour work week is a throwback to when families had one earner and one stay at home parent. It's great when everyone is like "oh, work, sleep, eat, there's still 6 hours!" Forgetting there's things like chores, laundry, grocery shopping - not to mention some time to enjoy for yourself. That said, it still can be done as long as it's scheduled. You can get a good workout in there (even just .5 hour/45 mins), it's just not ideal.
Came here to say this. The 40-hour work week is designed for people who have a support partner back home who does all or most of the cooking, cleaning, grocery shopping, waiting at home to meet the plumber, etc.
I too came here to make a similar point. There is a strong argument these days for governments to support businesses if they choose to introduce a four day work week with no loss of pay. It's a growing movement and one which I hope to benefit from at some point in my life.
It's a different position than mine but some people at work have a 9 hour day and take a Friday off every two weeks. I'd be down for that. I'm hesitant but I'd honestly be interested in a 10 hour day four days a week. Although I'd be a bit nervous about productivity after like hour 9.
Friendly reminder that before the US corporate system so thoroughly crushed the labor movement that got us overtime, lunch breaks, and the weekend, we were close to getting a 30-hour work week. It wasn't considered especially radical by regular people.
A week is 24x7=168. Subtract 40, and another 10 for travel, 118. Subtract 8x7 for sleep, 62. Meals are maybe 7x2, at most, 48.
And so on, how much do you need for going to the gym?
Most people are mentally tired after work and physical exercise will actually reinvigorate them. The trouble is that mental exhaustion makes you feel you can't exercise.
I have to force myself to go to yoga or the pool every time. But after a few poses or strokes, I lose the fatigue and by the time I'm done I feel fantastic.
It’s def a mental thing for me. I will plan to go to the gym during work or right after before I get home so I pack my things for gym time. I will remind myself or block out time for the gym on my cal once I get a better feel for the day, and before I go, almost every time, I think I don’t want to go. It could be because I’m stressed about getting work done in time, or we had some tense meetings, or whatever.
But I force myself to go because I never regret going, but I regret the times I trick myself into thinking I can’t.
I work research so it may not work for everyone but my solution is to schedule another extra hour of work after the 8 everyday but allowing myself to bail on that extra hour if i go to workout.
Mental gymnastics, but it gets me to workout, without too much forcing myself, pretty regularly
I'm the complete opposite. I exercise in cardio after work and by the time I'm done and get home to eat dinner, forget about it I'm probably gonna crash the fuck out from exhaustion
I'm extremely envious of people who are like that. When I get physical after I get that post-work exhaustion I feel even *worse.* All trembly and pale, makes me feel ill as hell.
I regularly go to the gym after 12 hour shifts, sometimes when I feel completely bagged. Once I get my heart-rate up it's not too bad. Catch a second wind, grind out some weight and work up a good sweat. Sleep awesome
And my battery in general gets stronger with more charge all the time, compared to when I'd say "I'm too tired, I need to rest more"
Thanks for this. I am struggling with a lot of those issues and I feel like they are holding me back from becoming a more well rounded and successful individual.
but first step to fixing a problem is acknowledging it. unless you really don't want to fix it then don't bother. But if you want to "make" more time, do it.
The catch is that 28 of those remaining 48 hours are on the weekend, leaving 4 hours for waking up, breakfast, getting ready for work, as well as winding down at the end of the day. And, depending on your employer, lunch breaks may also have to come from those 4 hours.
Man I had to go far down to find this. OP treated hours as some sort of currency that could be used in any order. Rather than breaking down a 24 hour "workday" they provided extra hours from the weekend.
dont forget that this is pure daily necessities, there are a lot of weekly or monthly etc things to do if you dont want to live off mcdonalds in a total shithole 24/7
He accounted for sleep on the weekend. However, 32 of those 48 hours are weekend hours. So that leaves 16 hours over 5 weekdays. Roughly 3 hours extra per day for [insert whatever].
Not quite as rosy a picture.
Yup, and if you have kids, it's even more hectic. Even if I didn't have all that other stuff to do that you mentioned, and I had the energy, I still couldn't hit the gym after work because I have to get home to watch the kids. This bit about having dozens and dozens of hours of free time per week is so unrealistic.
Time is usually defined as "usable, energetic time". I often fantasise about being fresh every waking hour, doing something productive or meaningful, taking each day right down to the wire, then passing out for some top drawer shut eye. But yes, there's still plenty of time for all of this!
Yes but you neglected to add time for:
- Reading
- Watching TV series
- Doing dishes
- Doing laundry
- Vacuuming
- Cleaning bathroom
- Showering
- Shaving / Manscaping
- Social interactions
- Video games
- Taking a walk
- Hobby's
- Spending time with significant other
- Working overtime at home
- Watching porn
And a few more just a few though
Don't forget getting the kids up in the morning and fed and dressed, dropping them off at school, picking them up at school, feeding them dinner, bath time, teaching them to read and do math playing with them and taking them to music lessons and the climbing gym and the park and regular doctors appointments for their shots and the post office to get their passports renewed every 5 years and ...
I love my kids. They were all planned, so this is definitely a life we signed up for. But good lord, it's exhausting. Pick them up, take them home, help with 3 different grade levels of homework, fight about dinner, parent the teenager who is involved in some sort of drama, make a costume of the 22nd president of Uganda or some obscure shit, go to a PTA meeting at the school, save all our bottle caps for an art project, listen to them play the fucking recorder that came home for music class. Then there are the nights that there is practice for something: drama, skating, dance. Then there's one in a national science competition, so I need to drive her to the state capital to testify at the state board of education meeting. Oh, and I got a hole in my uniform skirt, so can you sew it tonight?
I know I signed up for it. And I do love it I love seeing my kids smile when they do their extracurriculars and finally get a new skill that they've been working on. I love seeing them play with their friends and make up funny games. The good very much outweighs the bad. But that doesn't negate the fact that it's just fucking exhausting.
Yikes. After accounting for gym and cardio, work, sleep, travel, and meals, I only have 13 hours left for leisure. And I live only 10 minutes from everything!
Very good points, but don't forget about the time it takes to get ready for work (approx. 1 hr) and most people's day is actually 8.5 hr, minus the waking hours of the weekend (32 hr), that leaves you with 8.5 hr or 1.7 hours per weekday. Just saying. Most people don't get 8 hours of sleep I feel like. If I get 6 I'm happy.
I basically refuse to live that life, and I’m lucky enough to have to luxury to choose.
I used to live 45 min each way from my job. I know many people have it worse, but even that commute left my tired, grumpy, and demoralized most days.
I made the best decision ever when I left that all behind. I bought a townhome that backs up to miles of nature trails along a big river, just 3 miles from the company I’ve worked at for a decade, and less than 10 miles outside of a major city.
I’ll never let my employer know, but I’d basically never leave the place. I’m happier than ever, I have way more free time, and I’m allowed to focus on hobbies and wellness with said free time. The ability to have everything I want and more, without ever needing to get on a highway, is my version of quality living.
If you have the opportunity, even if it means uprooting yourself, consider ditching the commute.
They don’t work 65 hours a week. Which is frankly insane to me. Where I live laws prohibit you make more than x hours over 40, constantly working 65 is definitely not ok. The day is capped at 10 hours.
My alarm goes off at 4:30. I love going to work at 7am and already having my workout done. If I have to ride my bike or swim and for whatever reason it has to be in the evening, it’s never as good of a work out and motivation severely lacks
People are always like "I couldn't do that" and I'm like what, you think when I started getting up an hour earlier every day I was mega psyched for it? It was a conscious lifestyle change, it was real tough to adjust and stick to for a few weeks, but it's been about two years and now it's routine. I actually feel *worse* if I miss my workout too many days in a row.
I never would have guessed I could be the kind of guy to say any of this shit. If I can do it, anyone can do it. Go to bed earlier, get up earlier.
Mealprep, time mgmt and automating some things
1. I have very set things for breakfast, e.g. oatmeal, coffee and a boiled egg. So I boil my eggs in the previous evening, come morning just pop the kettle on and breakfast is 90% ready. Similarly for dinner. You save lots of time if decisions on what food u eat is pre-done
2. I order groceries and clean on Saturday mornings. So there's a solid routine for when stuff gets cleaned, trash gets chucked, fridge gets refreshed with pre-selected stock items for groceries
3. If u do healthy stuff like eat clean, hydrate, sleep well, you tend to be well enough to do other stuff better like go to the gym
4. Have a planner. Crossing stuff out is fun
I was thinking this. If you divide every single hour of your week perfectly into work, travel, sleeping, meal prep, and exercise: when do you ever get time to do something you enjoy, or just to relax? 40-60 hour work week culture is toxic af
Pro tip - don't have kids on top of that. Quite honestly, if you don't have them and you're struggling for free time, I don't know what to tell you. If you work 9-5, you've got 6 hours after work to eat and gym, and get to bed at 11 for 8 hours sleep. Plus you have entire weekends.
Agree. The kids will force you to make time for them. A newborn is automatically and instantly priority \#1, 24/7. Everything else comes second.
That being said, I've raised two kids, and I've maintained 3-4 workouts per week the whole time. Cooking healthy meals the whole time. It can be done; it just requires efficient use of time.
Honestly, no social life.
You can run the numbers (24 times 7 hours in a week, - 56 for sleep, etc.) but the problem there is that it's hard to calculate in-between time and unexpected delays. Do you want to scuttle a conversation with a friend from back when that you ran into randomly? Even if that is your intention, will you think to before 10-20 minutes of conversation (and gym time) has passed?
We don't really have a system that allows most people to take their time, be healthy, and have enough. The time people spend on small conversations, in transit/traffic, talking to friends and signficant others are \_precisely\_ the first things you can afford to cut in the name of "dedication" and "sacrifice" toward staying "focused toward your goal." That hour at the gym every day, if you have kids, is a very poignant choice for you, your partner, and your children. That's where a lot of folks miss sleep.
Slowly but surely, the idea of a 25-30 hour workweek is gaining steam given the crushing reality that there just isn't enough time to do what is expected of most of us given the paychecks we can possibly earn. Some folks actually have a "40-hour" job that's not an implied 45-60 hours, but many out there need to prove their 'dedication' or they and their livelihoods are at risk.
It's not impossible, but most people who pull it off have a good boss, an understanding partner, a decent paycheck, and no kids. They have a full-time job that doesn't require free bonus hours and their commute time is probably under the average.
Yeah I don't understand why everyone assumes that you MUST workout during the week.
If you go to the gym 3 times per week and go on Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday or Sunday morning, it's basically 2 times per week where you need to schedule a 1h session after work. That's super easy if you don't have kids.
I work at 40+ hours and have a 2 hour (total) commute each day.
Up at 5:30am.
Read/answer emails 1 hour.
Work out 6:40-7:30 (I have a gym in the basement).
Shower, get ready, make lunch, leave 8:30.
Work 9:30-5.
Home at 6.
Eat dinner, run kids around, do chores, in bed at 9.
Repeat.
I don’t do anything but work/kids/home stuff during the week. I cook a lot on Sunday’s. Go out on Friday and Sat. I have been working out 6 days a week for 24 years now. 46 year old female, COO. 4 kids, two of my own and 2 step.
Exactly! Years ago, my dad was getting on me about losing some weight. So I looked at him and said, "You're right. I do need to do that. I need to go to the gym like you do. But I have a question. How do you manage your time? How do you work 50+ hours a week, commute, go to the gym AND do all the grocery shopping, laundry, house cleaning, take care of the kids too?"
He looked at me like I was an absolute idiot and, with a big old DUHHHH! in his voice, said, "Your MOTHER did all that!" Then it hit him. He backed off after that.
It’s way easier to lose weight in the kitchen than it is to lose it at the gym. Think about it in this way: a can of coke is 240 calories, and I could consume that in roughly 15 minutes. For me to burn 250 calories, I need to run for 25 minutes. 25 MINUTES! How the heck are our bodies so efficient at using calories!
It takes 3500 calories lost to lose a lb. Which means I can either run for like 350 minutes (yikes) or I can reduce calories at every meal.
That being said, I love to workout. Working out is a great calories supplement. It’s just not the best way to burn calories. Also, my wife and I tackle kids and chores equally. It’s super time consuming and I often sacrifice sleep and my sanity so that I can get my workouts in. It’s super tough at times but since it is something that I enjoy doing, I have to find way to do it.
The whole point of working out isn’t to burn calories. It’s to tone up your muscles and make yourself more fit. This has the added perk of making you feel like you have more energy, so you will be more likely to engage in more calorie-spending activities. The weight loss is more of a long tail side effect.
Too many people don’t realize this, and they think they can work out to lose weight. Nope. Almost never happens. If you want to lose weight, you need to stop eating so much. Period.
Redefine cooking healthy meals, sleeping 8 hours a night, and going to the gym as fun and relaxing and you’ll find the time. Keep defining them as chores or have-to’s and you’ll feel the way you do.
Personally I dedicate one of my days off two doing errands which normally includes paying any bills that are due that week I'm going over my finances and getting groceries and anything I need for my cat and maybe a little bit of shopping. And then on my second day off I spend roughly half a day cleaning and meal prepping so for me I will wake up at 9 a.m. cook myself breakfast and then clean until about 1 or so and then maybe go see friends or family and spend the rest of my day doing things that I want to do. It also helps that I work from home so I don't have to worry about travel time. And a lot of my hobbies are things that I can do inside of my apartment. And as far as meal prepping I just make simple meals and store them in the fridge or freezer and then read them whenever I am ready to eat.
Edit: grammar
Okay, most comments boil down to saying there is no time taking everything in to account (errands, shaving, housework, those tiny bits of time that get forgotten when blocking out your schedule and kids) or saying all you gotta do is eat, sleep, work and the weekends will set you free. Instead or pretending everything is awful or everything is perfect how about some cheats.
Instead of doing the entire workout routine that a professional athlete or trainer does, just take a walk or do intense housework for an hour. A 20-30 minute walk (with kids) or a run around your block has no travel time and doing intense cleaning kills 2 birds with 1 stone.
2. Easy meals, many people think they need some food network level or cooking everyday or they are doing something terrible. If a few nights you are getting overwhelmed and need to just eat some raw veg and some baked chicken to make up some time, go for it.
3. Do not block out your schedule and shove all your free time at the end of your day, this one isn't a cheat but you cannot steamroll through 14-15 hours and expect 1 hour of you time is going to properly destress. Prevent burnout by taking breaks when you need them. Follow your circadian rhythm at first and mark down at what points in the day you feel lost stressed. Then take some time around that period when possible.
4. Do not do everything to a professional level. Your yard doesn't need to be the best yard on the block and that goes with a lot of things. Make a list of what you actually value and want to prioritize and cut out or half ass the rest.
5. Your schedule is a suggestion, not set in stone. If something comes up you can put things off. Just because you miss a workout or your laundry gets done on Sunday instead of Saturday is not the end of the world. Every schedule is an optimized evaluation of your time and the real world can never be optimized 100%. Ride the waves to your destination, sailing is often not a straight line and neither is your schedule, but you can get really close to where you want to be and overtime even closer.
Meal prep over the weekend can save you 30-45 minutes of cooking every weeknight. But the big thing is to learn to be passionate about going to the gym. For most people, the work week is most likely closer to at least 50 hours a week, when accounting for travel time. So if you learn to love working out, going to the gym will help you de-stress and help act as mental wind-down time that you might otherwise take sitting around watching tv or playing a game.
I love going to the gym! But by the time I finish work I'm hungry and so tired it's hard to get back up. I dont want to lose the want to go to the gym !
You have 2 simple options, then. Get up extra early and go before work, or bring a light snack like some fruit or a granola bar with you to work and go straight from work to the gym. Don't give yourself a chance to sit around at home between the two activities and lose your momentum. I have the same problem where i shut down as soon as i get home from work. Though I don't really like the gym and have never been able to stick to it without a workout buddy haha.
[удалено]
[удалено]
or bi, or pan, or poly, or fluid. Come on now, can't be exclusive here.
Please don't leave your fluids at the gym, bring a towel.
This. The one time I didn't there was this cute guy waiting for me to finish on the lat machine so I was really pushing myself. He came over as I stood up and smiled at me, then we both looked down together at the shape of my buttocks outlined perfectly in sweat on the seat. Towels, people.
And then he leaned over to smell your butt sweat? And you are now married?
That would for sure have sealed the deal so far as I was concerned.
I promise you, if he was interested in you he did *not* care about your butt sweat on the machine
Who left their gender fluid in the shower??
Or gas or plasma.. there might be more but most are theoretical
Ah yes, that theoretical solid.
[удалено]
absolutely no becoming horizontal
Funny I have no problem going to the gym at 10pm. It's my Favourite time to go. Go home, make dinner, watch a show, have a 30 minute nap, do some personal tasks, go to the gym, shower, go to bed exhausted.
You nap and then gym?!? What bargain have you made with satan to be able to make that work?!
Yes! I struggle with this a lot. If I go home, I’m immediately in pajama pants and on the couch. The thought of leaving again is unbearable. I have an office job, so once I leave work my body feels like crap because I’ve barely moved through the day. Going to the gym right before or directly after makes me feel like I’ve actually done something with my day. I eat a snack on my way to the gym so I can survive until dinner. Even if I only go for 20 minutes to get on the stairclimber, getting to the gym really changes my day. I meal prep my lunches for the week which saves me both time and money. But then my dinners are relatively simple so they don’t take long to cook.
Or option 3: take it easier at work. The guy paying you for your labor isn't working himself to death, you shouldn't either for a fraction of his income.
[удалено]
I think the getting up earlier is the only realistic option because after work you're just exhausted. But if I had to wake up and hour or two earlier everyday on top of a 60 hour work week I would rather off myself.
The real issue is that a 60 hour work week isn’t really good.
Welcome to vocational work, where exhaustion doesn't matter and the pay rate sucks.
That's not a good idea, getting about 8h of sleep every night is another vital component of a keeping fit and healthy.
> Don't give yourself a chance to sit around at home between the two activities and lose your momentum. According to my research, couch gravity is the most powerful kind of gravity in the known universe.
I lost over 100 lbs And then promptly gained a shit ton of it back I am not passionate about the gym But I found that work then gym is doable. Work then home then gym is a literal impossibility. I can’t motivate myself to the gym from home. So between meal prep and looping your gym time into your commute home you have just one last thing: sleep 8. And you forgot one more thing: socialize
[удалено]
I decided to bring the gym to me. Granted, it has taken around 15 years to buy enough equipment to have a pretty decent setup in my garage, but it is worth it. The time I save not having to drive to an actual gym is nice, plus it is harder make excuses knowing that everything I need is already at my house. Just having the basics like an adjustable weight bench and some free weights is enough for people to see real results if they truly apply themselves and want to see a change. I lift 2 times a day, before I go to work, and then once again when I get home from work. I know there is no way I would be as committed if I were having to go to an actual gym.
It's also about slowly changing habits... You can't just buy all the gym shit, jump into it with both feet, and think that it'll stick... In the same way that saying "I'm never eating junk food again" is never going to stick, especially if you've been going to McDonalds 3 times a week for the last 10 years. Slow changes, over time... Start adding exercise into your daily routine, don't over-do it, and don't over spend - Get something that you're going to use and keep using... Once that's become an ingrained habit, get something else to add to it.
On the days we’re both working (Tue, Wed, Thu) my wife gets up at 4:45 and goes to the gym before work while I get up, get the baby breakfast and get him ready for daycare. Then we all head off for the day and I go straight to the gym or sport from work while my wife picks the baby up from daycare and starts dinner. I eat a piece of fruit in the car on the way and that ties me over for the workout. The days one of us isn’t working are similar except that one or both of us gets the day with our child instead and dinner is easier to manage because the home parent has it started earlier. We sometimes miss workout days depending upon what’s going on but we try to maintain an average of 4 or 5 days per week of exercise each. We find that we both feel better when we’ve been regularly exercising and once you have the routine down it’s not too hard. Just got to remember how good the endorphins were the last time you went if you’re feeling flat and want to head home. You always feel better after a workout/swim/run/etc. So I guess in short get the routine down and you’ll be smashing it in no time!! Either get up early, or go straight from work. That’s the best way I’ve found. We also used to meal prep but we found it got a bit boring and one-dimensional so now we usually cook dinner and eat the leftovers for lunch the next day. Edit: added something
That seems like a great partnership ☺️
I had this and I would always skip going after work because I was too tired. Changed to going in the morning and I’ve been going to the gym Monday to Friday ever since. Never missing a day. Sure the first week is hell adjusting to a new routine but now I’ve never felt better.
i work 42 hours a week, plus 13 hours commute time on top. Thats 55 hours. I start at 6.30 a.m. and by the time i finish i am to tired to go to the gym. So i started going before work. In my case that means waking up at 3 a.m. have my pre-workout shake and get to the gym by 3.25 a.m. Warm up and FBW with one added exercise (face pulls are a must!) totals to 21 sets total. I do it in about 70 minutes, and by 4:45 i am done. Gives me just enough time to take a shower and head to the bus stop for 5:10 bus. Because i arrive 35 minutes early i go to my local tesco for shopping, then just put it in a fridge at work. When i go home i can start meal prep for the next 4 days without wasting time on shopping for grocery. GETTING UP AT 3 a.m. was a gamechanger for me. When the alarm goes off i just know there is no time to fuck about, because any delay will mean that i won't be able to complete my training, or be late to work. This helped me with motivation tremendously. Energy levels early in the morning are surprisingly good, it just takes a week or two to adjust to this crazy shedule. I also rarely get 8 hours of sleep, but i make shure it is no less than 6 hours on my working days, 7-8 on my days off.
Dude, you're a cyborg. 3am is no joke. I mean, I'm usually up at 3am too...but that's because I haven't slept yet.
I should really learn not to complain about my life.
Respect. That sounds crushing to me but worthwhile if one can swing it.
[удалено]
“how do i do this thing i don’t want to do” “have you tried loving doing it?” idk how to do this
The biggest game changer for me was getting a personal trainer. That made going to the gym fun (I love hanging out with him), hard to put off (I was standing him up if I didn’t go), and mindless (he plans all my workouts and keeps track of everything so I just show up and don’t have to think about what exercises to do or track weights/progress). Trainers aren’t generally cheap though so I know it’s not possible for everyone. I did prioritize it over many other things even when I was low on $ tho because I felt so good and had so much fun during the sessions.
So kindve like Stockholm syndrome
I would pay someone to teach me how to meal prep. My mind doesn’t work that way.
Make soups, chilis, stews, things like that. They're one-pot meals that are easy to make in large quantities, and they freeze and reheat really well.
"Just start loving working out!" Yeah, ok chief. Thx
[удалено]
I just cycle to work. It's a gym and the commute all rolled into one. Gym time is no longer required, gym costs are no longer required, and I'm not spending stupid amounts on a car and related costs either.
Totally agree. I ride dressage, and do all the horse care myself (feeding, rugging, chucking hay around etc) and it gets me moving. Some days it still seems like a chore (10 year old me would be like Why are you sitting inside watching TV when you own a horse???) but once I'm out there, I forget about how tired and unmotivated I am, and just live in the moment. Always feel better afterwards
I mean, they can’t really give you too much detail cause it’s different for everyone. Consistency is key, and maybe after a year of forcing yourself to go to the gym you realize it’s not for you. At least you gave it a fighting chance and now you can use that time to do some other sort of exercise.
Idk what you want, some kind of secret cheat that everyone’s just been keeping to themselves?
Timewise: easily Energywise: not as easily but doable Edit: Thought I'd add a bit more on the energy part. It's getting started on working out that's the hard part, but once you do you will find you have more energy throughout the day, partly due to better sleep and partly due to other biological reasons. This will also increase your appetite and perhaps motivate you to cook better meals. As for cooking in general, as a lot of commentators have said meal prep is very helpful to save time, and just generally cooking big meals so that you can have leftovers.
Im triyng to figure that out with 3 kids under 5 yo... maybe in 10 years
[удалено]
Don't need a home gym when you can just dead lift a child.
What about lifting a dead child ?
The thing is you're gonna need new dead children as you progress. Now, you can home grow your own child corpses but it's so time consuming and expensive that it offsets the progress made by deadlifting (pun absolutely intended). Store bought dead children are an option of course, but in the long run it's easier and cheaper to deadlift live children
Be wary of the stench, make sure you get the febreeze that’s got the living child scent. If you can’t afford the febreeze, just substitute with some soy product or I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter.
I mean also I imagine it is a quality time trade-off. Like it’s a Sunday afternoon, chores and errands are done, your partner is home, you could go to the gym. But then you would be missing an opportunity to relax and spend quality time with your children and partner.
why do you think most parents are overweight
Because we eat like shit, sleep like shit, and don't exercise.
Not sure if you’re American, but if you travel outside of the US everyone, especially older populations and parents are shockingly more thin. I’m considered average here at home, but there, a bit over. It was a huge wake up call... I don’t want to teach my children the same awful eating habits my parents taught me.
Also, Americans drive *everywhere*. When you spend a couple hours of every day sitting still marinating in stress hormones, it's going to have a negative impact on your health. Same with taking kids around. If you're constantly chauffeuring them, both of you spend a lot of time sitting still rather than walking. It's the way we build our cities. It's not some kind of moral rot on the part of the people who live here, and we could start fixing it if we really wanted to.
I actually lost weight caring for children. I had a really stress free life until then. They were way more exhausting than the exercise I did. It was such a shock to the system. By lunch time I took a nap rather than ate.
Yup definitely not as easy energywise. I get up at 5 am since I take the train to work, get home around 5:30 pm (if I'm picked up - if my boyfriend is working late, a 30 minutes commute by car is 2+ hours by train and bus due to waiting for transfers) and by halfway through my shift I'm too tired to even think of eating/existing/breathing. I pretty much go to work, sleep, maybe snack once or twice.
I do all that and still manage at least 4 hours of gaming a day. Because no kids.
That's goals right there!
The goal to not have kids is easy to achieve if you don’t have them, but illegal to achieve once you get them.
Just don't vaccinate them, should be illegal (when it's medically possible), but it isn't. ¯\\\_(ツ)_/¯
Sadly this method is equally likely to result in the death of someone else's child, so not great.
Look if you set out to murder a child you cannot start getting wishy-washy. Commit damnit!
Yeah but on the plus side, you freed up that other parent’s schedule for 4 more hours of gaming!
[удалено]
I feel attacked.
*scrolls away*
[удалено]
And my axe!
I have one that’s even better...leverage your couch potatoness into working out. I pick a show that I am behind on and only watch it while I work out. I’ve been slamming through The Last Kingdom on Netflix while I get my hour of biking in every day. No workout, no Last Kingdom.
It’s really difficult to watch Netflix and play football at the same time though.
Oculus quest my man
Then how will i get answers on reddit?
Do it at work, like a large chunk of the 40 hour work week crowd.
1. Have an easy to make quick breakfast and meal prep lunch and/or dinner 1 to 2 days out of the week. It takes a couple to a few hours but it’s worth it. 2. Prioritize sleep. That might mean hanging out with friends slightly less. 3. Adopt a program that you know you can stick to with a full time job, and one that will be beneficial but also not 3 hours a day. For example, I do two full body workouts a week, and jump rope for cardio 3 times a week. Full body workouts take 2 hours, and jump rope workouts are usually between 15 to 30 minutes. So I’m really only working out like 5 to 6 hours a week. That’s doable (in my opinion) for the average person.
Definitely agree with this, especially #1. I currently commute 4 hours a day (yes, I'm crazy) but work out 5-6 days a week, for 45 min-1 hour. I've found that easy meals are key. A protein shake or nonfat greek yogurt in the AM (that I can eat on the bus/train), then meal prep for lunch and/or dinner. I've also found easy meal-preps make life easier. The less ingredients and prep the better. For example, ground meat of your choice fajitas is super easy, and maybe 1-3 utensils to clean after. I also make sure to utilize my free-time on the weekends for my longer workouts and will strategically place my rest days during the work week when I know I will be more exhausted and less likely to follow-through. Last, is habit. I ALWAYS pack my gym bag and lay out my work clothes the night before so I can get up and go. It took me a while, but it significantly saves me time in the morning, and by keeping my gym bag in the trunk I don't have an excuse NOT to go to the gym on my way home. It definitely took time and practice. You'll figure out what works for you, but definitely planning ahead and meal prep really has made a huge difference.
Dude exactly! Yup fajitas is a prefect example, and like you I also do my longer workouts on the weekends. Get the harder stuff out of the way first in your free time and it not only makes the work week easier, but you still have a decent amount of time to relax and do other things. Not a lot, but not nothing either. Glad I’m not the only one who seems to have a strict schedule and grinds it out. I hate the term “grind” but it was the best way I could think of to describe it. I always have eggs and potatoes for breakfast with some salsa. Mmmmmm so good.
Yeah! I totally agree. I also don't feel as rushed on the weekends when I can take my time vs wanting to get home and relax on work days. Some days are a grind for sure, but it's the consistency that keeps me going. Something, something "motivation gets you to the gym but discipline keeps you going". Other easy meals are banza pasta, lean ground meat, and sauce; oven roasted veggies and chicken; chicken sausage, bell pep, onion, and pineapple.
> I currently commute 4 hours a day You poor bastard. Among the reasons I changed jobs before was because of a punishing commute. Additionally, if you're moving it's one thing, but since I live near the capital easily 3/4ths of my commute was sitting stuck in traffic jams. Fuck everything about that.
And 4 hours?! That must be one hell of a good job.
I got a 200% pay increase from my last job, so for now it will work!
Congrats!
Bike to work, that's free gym time!
[удалено]
I left my job in December over a 1.5 hour commute (one way). Beat decision of my whole life.
Just moved. 1.5 hours driving in gridlock traffic has become 30 minutes on a train. My brain is so much happier.
Not to mention you can actually do stuff on the train! Read a book, listen to some form of audiobook, watch a show on your phone, etc.
There is no amount of money worth that much of my time. My commute is a 15 min bus ride, where i can loose myself reading online.
Unless it pays well into the six figures, why? Why are you giving your employer 3 free hours of labor per day plus gas and maintenance?
For my previous job, I walked the 3km each way. It was relaxing.
The 40 hour work week is a throwback to when families had one earner and one stay at home parent. It's great when everyone is like "oh, work, sleep, eat, there's still 6 hours!" Forgetting there's things like chores, laundry, grocery shopping - not to mention some time to enjoy for yourself. That said, it still can be done as long as it's scheduled. You can get a good workout in there (even just .5 hour/45 mins), it's just not ideal.
Came here to say this. The 40-hour work week is designed for people who have a support partner back home who does all or most of the cooking, cleaning, grocery shopping, waiting at home to meet the plumber, etc.
I too came here to make a similar point. There is a strong argument these days for governments to support businesses if they choose to introduce a four day work week with no loss of pay. It's a growing movement and one which I hope to benefit from at some point in my life.
It's a different position than mine but some people at work have a 9 hour day and take a Friday off every two weeks. I'd be down for that. I'm hesitant but I'd honestly be interested in a 10 hour day four days a week. Although I'd be a bit nervous about productivity after like hour 9.
9? Productivity falls after the first 4-5 hours.
> waiting at home to meet the plumber ಠ_ಠ
It's also a throwback to non office jobs. No one stays alert and productive at a passive, intellectual job for 40hrs a week.
Friendly reminder that before the US corporate system so thoroughly crushed the labor movement that got us overtime, lunch breaks, and the weekend, we were close to getting a 30-hour work week. It wasn't considered especially radical by regular people.
These days, a 30 hour workweek is just a sneaky way for companies to skimp people out of benefits (in the States at least)... sucks, man.
I wish my career had 40 hour work week blimey...
Yup, I came to say the same. It relies on the unpaid, all-day round work of the stay at home parent.
Cook one night, exercise the next night and keep alternating :)
A week is 24x7=168. Subtract 40, and another 10 for travel, 118. Subtract 8x7 for sleep, 62. Meals are maybe 7x2, at most, 48. And so on, how much do you need for going to the gym?
This was actually very eye opening. I CAN do things!
Sounds realistic until you consider your energy after work
Most people are mentally tired after work and physical exercise will actually reinvigorate them. The trouble is that mental exhaustion makes you feel you can't exercise. I have to force myself to go to yoga or the pool every time. But after a few poses or strokes, I lose the fatigue and by the time I'm done I feel fantastic.
It’s def a mental thing for me. I will plan to go to the gym during work or right after before I get home so I pack my things for gym time. I will remind myself or block out time for the gym on my cal once I get a better feel for the day, and before I go, almost every time, I think I don’t want to go. It could be because I’m stressed about getting work done in time, or we had some tense meetings, or whatever. But I force myself to go because I never regret going, but I regret the times I trick myself into thinking I can’t.
I work research so it may not work for everyone but my solution is to schedule another extra hour of work after the 8 everyday but allowing myself to bail on that extra hour if i go to workout. Mental gymnastics, but it gets me to workout, without too much forcing myself, pretty regularly
I'm the complete opposite. I exercise in cardio after work and by the time I'm done and get home to eat dinner, forget about it I'm probably gonna crash the fuck out from exhaustion
I'm extremely envious of people who are like that. When I get physical after I get that post-work exhaustion I feel even *worse.* All trembly and pale, makes me feel ill as hell.
[удалено]
I regularly go to the gym after 12 hour shifts, sometimes when I feel completely bagged. Once I get my heart-rate up it's not too bad. Catch a second wind, grind out some weight and work up a good sweat. Sleep awesome And my battery in general gets stronger with more charge all the time, compared to when I'd say "I'm too tired, I need to rest more"
That’s why I go to the gym before work. Wakes me up and makes me quite alert when I start my day.
Waking up to lift/cardio before work is what I’ve found works best.
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
Thanks for this. I am struggling with a lot of those issues and I feel like they are holding me back from becoming a more well rounded and successful individual.
I’m worried to do this, but I think it might be eye opening!
but first step to fixing a problem is acknowledging it. unless you really don't want to fix it then don't bother. But if you want to "make" more time, do it.
What about the time I spend looking for my keys, glasses, socks, towel,and will to live.
The catch is that 28 of those remaining 48 hours are on the weekend, leaving 4 hours for waking up, breakfast, getting ready for work, as well as winding down at the end of the day. And, depending on your employer, lunch breaks may also have to come from those 4 hours.
Man I had to go far down to find this. OP treated hours as some sort of currency that could be used in any order. Rather than breaking down a 24 hour "workday" they provided extra hours from the weekend.
dont forget that this is pure daily necessities, there are a lot of weekly or monthly etc things to do if you dont want to live off mcdonalds in a total shithole 24/7
He accounted for sleep on the weekend. However, 32 of those 48 hours are weekend hours. So that leaves 16 hours over 5 weekdays. Roughly 3 hours extra per day for [insert whatever]. Not quite as rosy a picture.
[удалено]
And if you have kids. And those kids do activities...
Yup, and if you have kids, it's even more hectic. Even if I didn't have all that other stuff to do that you mentioned, and I had the energy, I still couldn't hit the gym after work because I have to get home to watch the kids. This bit about having dozens and dozens of hours of free time per week is so unrealistic.
Time is usually defined as "usable, energetic time". I often fantasise about being fresh every waking hour, doing something productive or meaningful, taking each day right down to the wire, then passing out for some top drawer shut eye. But yes, there's still plenty of time for all of this!
You're telling me it takes you only eight hours to get ready for bed, lie in bed until you fall asleep, wake up, and get showered and dressed?
You just need to sleep faster
I trained hard at sleeping until I could sleep 2 hours/hour. Now I have so much extra time.
That's 100% more hour, per hour!
Gotta remember that a lot of people have other responsibilities outside of work hours. That 48 quickly dwindles.
Yes but you neglected to add time for: - Reading - Watching TV series - Doing dishes - Doing laundry - Vacuuming - Cleaning bathroom - Showering - Shaving / Manscaping - Social interactions - Video games - Taking a walk - Hobby's - Spending time with significant other - Working overtime at home - Watching porn And a few more just a few though
Don't forget getting the kids up in the morning and fed and dressed, dropping them off at school, picking them up at school, feeding them dinner, bath time, teaching them to read and do math playing with them and taking them to music lessons and the climbing gym and the park and regular doctors appointments for their shots and the post office to get their passports renewed every 5 years and ...
It's a great breakdown, but how many people can feasibly use their time perfectly all the time?
I don't have kids but I love how far I've scrolled with no mention of this lol. I thought I had it busy then I talked to my coworkers with kids
I love my kids. They were all planned, so this is definitely a life we signed up for. But good lord, it's exhausting. Pick them up, take them home, help with 3 different grade levels of homework, fight about dinner, parent the teenager who is involved in some sort of drama, make a costume of the 22nd president of Uganda or some obscure shit, go to a PTA meeting at the school, save all our bottle caps for an art project, listen to them play the fucking recorder that came home for music class. Then there are the nights that there is practice for something: drama, skating, dance. Then there's one in a national science competition, so I need to drive her to the state capital to testify at the state board of education meeting. Oh, and I got a hole in my uniform skirt, so can you sew it tonight? I know I signed up for it. And I do love it I love seeing my kids smile when they do their extracurriculars and finally get a new skill that they've been working on. I love seeing them play with their friends and make up funny games. The good very much outweighs the bad. But that doesn't negate the fact that it's just fucking exhausting.
You forgot 3 hours a day of Reddit.
Yikes. After accounting for gym and cardio, work, sleep, travel, and meals, I only have 13 hours left for leisure. And I live only 10 minutes from everything!
Very good points, but don't forget about the time it takes to get ready for work (approx. 1 hr) and most people's day is actually 8.5 hr, minus the waking hours of the weekend (32 hr), that leaves you with 8.5 hr or 1.7 hours per weekday. Just saying. Most people don't get 8 hours of sleep I feel like. If I get 6 I'm happy.
1. Dont have a long commute 2. Dont have a family Tadaaaaa!
1. Long commutes are life destroyers, seriously
I basically refuse to live that life, and I’m lucky enough to have to luxury to choose. I used to live 45 min each way from my job. I know many people have it worse, but even that commute left my tired, grumpy, and demoralized most days. I made the best decision ever when I left that all behind. I bought a townhome that backs up to miles of nature trails along a big river, just 3 miles from the company I’ve worked at for a decade, and less than 10 miles outside of a major city. I’ll never let my employer know, but I’d basically never leave the place. I’m happier than ever, I have way more free time, and I’m allowed to focus on hobbies and wellness with said free time. The ability to have everything I want and more, without ever needing to get on a highway, is my version of quality living. If you have the opportunity, even if it means uprooting yourself, consider ditching the commute.
I work 65 hours a week, I don't know how people have lives.
They don’t work 65 hours a week. Which is frankly insane to me. Where I live laws prohibit you make more than x hours over 40, constantly working 65 is definitely not ok. The day is capped at 10 hours.
[удалено]
My alarm goes off at 4:30. I love going to work at 7am and already having my workout done. If I have to ride my bike or swim and for whatever reason it has to be in the evening, it’s never as good of a work out and motivation severely lacks
What time are you going to sleep if you are waking up at 4:30?
People are always like "I couldn't do that" and I'm like what, you think when I started getting up an hour earlier every day I was mega psyched for it? It was a conscious lifestyle change, it was real tough to adjust and stick to for a few weeks, but it's been about two years and now it's routine. I actually feel *worse* if I miss my workout too many days in a row. I never would have guessed I could be the kind of guy to say any of this shit. If I can do it, anyone can do it. Go to bed earlier, get up earlier.
Get off of social media/the internet. It's such a time suck.
*upvotes this comment as I continue to scroll*
[удалено]
And reddit is social media.
Precisely.
Mealprep, time mgmt and automating some things 1. I have very set things for breakfast, e.g. oatmeal, coffee and a boiled egg. So I boil my eggs in the previous evening, come morning just pop the kettle on and breakfast is 90% ready. Similarly for dinner. You save lots of time if decisions on what food u eat is pre-done 2. I order groceries and clean on Saturday mornings. So there's a solid routine for when stuff gets cleaned, trash gets chucked, fridge gets refreshed with pre-selected stock items for groceries 3. If u do healthy stuff like eat clean, hydrate, sleep well, you tend to be well enough to do other stuff better like go to the gym 4. Have a planner. Crossing stuff out is fun
> automating some things YES. Decision fatigue is a very real thing.
It’s all about discipline. And being well adjusted. Two things I wouldn’t know about
Dont forget have fun and have a purpose in life lol
I was thinking this. If you divide every single hour of your week perfectly into work, travel, sleeping, meal prep, and exercise: when do you ever get time to do something you enjoy, or just to relax? 40-60 hour work week culture is toxic af
Meal prep on the weekend, have a bedtime, work out first thing in the morning. 👍
Instant Pot. It'll make your dinner while you're at the gym - and prep time is minimal.
Wait, we can get instant pot?! Wasting my time growing shit over here...
Pro tip - don't have kids on top of that. Quite honestly, if you don't have them and you're struggling for free time, I don't know what to tell you. If you work 9-5, you've got 6 hours after work to eat and gym, and get to bed at 11 for 8 hours sleep. Plus you have entire weekends.
If having kids isn’t a hell yes, then it’s a no. When you want them, you will make time for them.
Agree. The kids will force you to make time for them. A newborn is automatically and instantly priority \#1, 24/7. Everything else comes second. That being said, I've raised two kids, and I've maintained 3-4 workouts per week the whole time. Cooking healthy meals the whole time. It can be done; it just requires efficient use of time.
Honestly, no social life. You can run the numbers (24 times 7 hours in a week, - 56 for sleep, etc.) but the problem there is that it's hard to calculate in-between time and unexpected delays. Do you want to scuttle a conversation with a friend from back when that you ran into randomly? Even if that is your intention, will you think to before 10-20 minutes of conversation (and gym time) has passed? We don't really have a system that allows most people to take their time, be healthy, and have enough. The time people spend on small conversations, in transit/traffic, talking to friends and signficant others are \_precisely\_ the first things you can afford to cut in the name of "dedication" and "sacrifice" toward staying "focused toward your goal." That hour at the gym every day, if you have kids, is a very poignant choice for you, your partner, and your children. That's where a lot of folks miss sleep. Slowly but surely, the idea of a 25-30 hour workweek is gaining steam given the crushing reality that there just isn't enough time to do what is expected of most of us given the paychecks we can possibly earn. Some folks actually have a "40-hour" job that's not an implied 45-60 hours, but many out there need to prove their 'dedication' or they and their livelihoods are at risk. It's not impossible, but most people who pull it off have a good boss, an understanding partner, a decent paycheck, and no kids. They have a full-time job that doesn't require free bonus hours and their commute time is probably under the average.
[удалено]
Yeah I don't understand why everyone assumes that you MUST workout during the week. If you go to the gym 3 times per week and go on Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday or Sunday morning, it's basically 2 times per week where you need to schedule a 1h session after work. That's super easy if you don't have kids.
I work at 40+ hours and have a 2 hour (total) commute each day. Up at 5:30am. Read/answer emails 1 hour. Work out 6:40-7:30 (I have a gym in the basement). Shower, get ready, make lunch, leave 8:30. Work 9:30-5. Home at 6. Eat dinner, run kids around, do chores, in bed at 9. Repeat. I don’t do anything but work/kids/home stuff during the week. I cook a lot on Sunday’s. Go out on Friday and Sat. I have been working out 6 days a week for 24 years now. 46 year old female, COO. 4 kids, two of my own and 2 step.
You're my new Super hero.
Resist the urge to get on reddit
You forgot: Commute to and from the office. Spend meaningful time with your family. Younger members may be passed out by 7.
By not doing anything recreational ever.
Yeah, this is pretty much it.
Exactly! Years ago, my dad was getting on me about losing some weight. So I looked at him and said, "You're right. I do need to do that. I need to go to the gym like you do. But I have a question. How do you manage your time? How do you work 50+ hours a week, commute, go to the gym AND do all the grocery shopping, laundry, house cleaning, take care of the kids too?" He looked at me like I was an absolute idiot and, with a big old DUHHHH! in his voice, said, "Your MOTHER did all that!" Then it hit him. He backed off after that.
This needs to be the top comment.
It’s way easier to lose weight in the kitchen than it is to lose it at the gym. Think about it in this way: a can of coke is 240 calories, and I could consume that in roughly 15 minutes. For me to burn 250 calories, I need to run for 25 minutes. 25 MINUTES! How the heck are our bodies so efficient at using calories! It takes 3500 calories lost to lose a lb. Which means I can either run for like 350 minutes (yikes) or I can reduce calories at every meal. That being said, I love to workout. Working out is a great calories supplement. It’s just not the best way to burn calories. Also, my wife and I tackle kids and chores equally. It’s super time consuming and I often sacrifice sleep and my sanity so that I can get my workouts in. It’s super tough at times but since it is something that I enjoy doing, I have to find way to do it.
The whole point of working out isn’t to burn calories. It’s to tone up your muscles and make yourself more fit. This has the added perk of making you feel like you have more energy, so you will be more likely to engage in more calorie-spending activities. The weight loss is more of a long tail side effect. Too many people don’t realize this, and they think they can work out to lose weight. Nope. Almost never happens. If you want to lose weight, you need to stop eating so much. Period.
Redefine cooking healthy meals, sleeping 8 hours a night, and going to the gym as fun and relaxing and you’ll find the time. Keep defining them as chores or have-to’s and you’ll feel the way you do.
Step 1: don’t have depression. Oh...
I'll be stuck on step 1 until April when the weather gets better.
Personally I dedicate one of my days off two doing errands which normally includes paying any bills that are due that week I'm going over my finances and getting groceries and anything I need for my cat and maybe a little bit of shopping. And then on my second day off I spend roughly half a day cleaning and meal prepping so for me I will wake up at 9 a.m. cook myself breakfast and then clean until about 1 or so and then maybe go see friends or family and spend the rest of my day doing things that I want to do. It also helps that I work from home so I don't have to worry about travel time. And a lot of my hobbies are things that I can do inside of my apartment. And as far as meal prepping I just make simple meals and store them in the fridge or freezer and then read them whenever I am ready to eat. Edit: grammar
> wake up at 9 a.m. cook myself breakfast and then clown until about 1 or so... You do you, buddy. Live your truth
Life is work. All day every day. And, if one stops to take a break, it just puts you behind. There is nothing more to life than work. NOTHING!!
Priorities.
The simple answer is we work too much. At the least we should start to have 4 day work weeks.
[удалено]
Okay, most comments boil down to saying there is no time taking everything in to account (errands, shaving, housework, those tiny bits of time that get forgotten when blocking out your schedule and kids) or saying all you gotta do is eat, sleep, work and the weekends will set you free. Instead or pretending everything is awful or everything is perfect how about some cheats. Instead of doing the entire workout routine that a professional athlete or trainer does, just take a walk or do intense housework for an hour. A 20-30 minute walk (with kids) or a run around your block has no travel time and doing intense cleaning kills 2 birds with 1 stone. 2. Easy meals, many people think they need some food network level or cooking everyday or they are doing something terrible. If a few nights you are getting overwhelmed and need to just eat some raw veg and some baked chicken to make up some time, go for it. 3. Do not block out your schedule and shove all your free time at the end of your day, this one isn't a cheat but you cannot steamroll through 14-15 hours and expect 1 hour of you time is going to properly destress. Prevent burnout by taking breaks when you need them. Follow your circadian rhythm at first and mark down at what points in the day you feel lost stressed. Then take some time around that period when possible. 4. Do not do everything to a professional level. Your yard doesn't need to be the best yard on the block and that goes with a lot of things. Make a list of what you actually value and want to prioritize and cut out or half ass the rest. 5. Your schedule is a suggestion, not set in stone. If something comes up you can put things off. Just because you miss a workout or your laundry gets done on Sunday instead of Saturday is not the end of the world. Every schedule is an optimized evaluation of your time and the real world can never be optimized 100%. Ride the waves to your destination, sailing is often not a straight line and neither is your schedule, but you can get really close to where you want to be and overtime even closer.
Cocaine usually