Many of my acquaintances and friends, who are also on maternity leave and have children, often wonder and ask me where I take the time and energy to run or do any exercise. And so, for inspiration in 10 points, I wrote activities to which I dedicate the maximum and minimum time, as well as setting my limits so that it all helps me gain more time to exercise and run.
- In running I have established a fixed order: running 4 to 5 times a week, not daily, so that the body can regenerate and I personally prefer to take 2 days off in a row from the run, I feel reborn, I run more pleasant even with faster runs. I run with a pram or my husband watches over the baby. We have no other babysitting. Grandmothers live far away.
- I stretch almost daily, anytime during the day. I work out 3 times a week for at least 20 minutes at home or outside on the workout playground, of course my child assists, who climbs after me at home and either sleeps in a pram outside or walks around me.
- To have the strength to exercise and run, I follow the rule: “tired the child and do not allow the child to tire you.” E.g. I haven’t carried my son in a stretcher for a few months now and I’ve worn very little. And I take very little of my son’s hands, he has to move above all alone.
- I always manage home activities such as putting things in the washing machine and dishes in the dishwasher within a few minutes. I don’t pick up every dirt after a child, I don’t try to have a perfect wipe and tidy at home 10 times a day. If the child pulls the books out of the bookshelf, I’ll leave it that way until my son does another activity, otherwise he would throw everything back on the ground after my cleaning. Even if you don’t do housework all day, you can get a lot of time to exercise.
- Almost every day, thanks to my husband, I have the opportunity for 1 hour of time for myself. And instead of visits, for example to cosmetic procedures, I dedicate time primarily to running, exercising, education or my website.
- I usually run around noon, when the child is most tired, when the son falls asleep in the stroller, so I can run alone on the outdoor running track, while the stroller is parked nearby. (Currently, due to government regulations, the running track is closed, so I have to run more with a stroller). Or I run with the stroller for an hour or more and slower. You can also run with a child.
- If I know that the day I need to run, but I have more arrangements around the offices or visits to doctors and others, then I run exceptionally in the morning before my husband starts working, he looks after the child.
- To have the strength to run and exercise, I try to sleep honestly 7 hours a day, even if it is not a pure time, because I still get up at least once a night to the child. Without enough sleep, the body does not regenerate very well.
- I plan to cook meals for at least two days in advance, I buy ingredients accordingly and I try to cook simple and nutritionally balanced meals in fifteen minutes. recipes can be found in the section 15-MINUTES MEAL RECIPES. Sometimes I let lunch cook in the oven for a few hours, so when I come back from outside or from a run, lunch is ready.
- I have set a limit on my mobile phone for how long to spend time on social networks or browsing the net. It doesn’t seem like it, but even such a restriction will help you gain time for exercise or other sports. Otherwise, I have most of the notifications on my phone turned off so that the beeps of my phone don’t distract me from other activities.
I have these points adapted to a situation in which I have no help and no babysitting in the form of grandmothers, aunts and other relatives or acquaintances. My husband and I try to take care of the child together, only the two of us. he is also sporty and likes to run, so that after work he also has time for himself.
And these points are only an example and an inspiration to others, how is it possible to gain more time for your hobbies, if you have children. Everyone is in a different situation that needs to be worked with. And another situation is whether you have only one child or more children and also at what age your children are. My baby is one year and 3 months old and I will have to take a different approach when he is older.
