Whether you’re a stay-at-home parent or working from home, it’s harder to do everything. If you haven’t developed an efficient routing, you’ll be drawn into television or other distractions that keep you from work. Maybe you’re great at staying on the job, but you stay working far beyond a normal eight-hour day. There’s no going to the gym after work since your workday never ends. How do you stay healthy and fit when your boss demands more or the kids need your full attention?
It all starts with scheduling your work and filling your schedule.
It’s not an easy task to work from home or be a stay-at-home parent. You don’t have the traditional outline of a day: go to work, take a break, eat lunch, take a break, go home. You have to create your schedule. Often, people who work from home also have to include the task of parenting. Most people have a general outline of what they do on the job. Write down those things and assign a time to each. Find a spot to schedule exercise, whether you’re doing it alone, with the kids, or when the kids are napping.
Get an egg time and set it for 55 minutes.
Studies found that sitting for longer than 55 minutes is unhealthy. Use an egg timer or the timer on your phone or stove to ensure you get up and move around for five minutes every hour. You can stretch, do a few minutes of tidying up, or do warm-up exercises to increase circulation if you schedule an exercise session. Schedule your workout at the same time daily to develop consistency and create a habit.
When you’re short on time, make your workout more intense.
HIIT—high-intensity interval training—is not a specific exercise but a way of doing any exercise. You alternate your intensity between peak intensity, where you work toward a maximum heart rate, and a recovery pace, where your heart rate is lowered. You can do this with any workout. Do full-body workouts and compound exercises that work several joints at once. The more intense your workout, the less time you have to spend.
- Make the children’s playtime your exercise time. When you actively play with your kids, you all benefit. Do it at the same time each day so the kids know when to expect it and can look forward to it.
- You don’t need equipment to exercise at home. You can do body weight exercises and calisthenics. If you want to use equipment but don’t have much money, start with resistance bands that are inexpensive and easy to store.
- Staying fit is more than exercise. It’s eating healthy, too. You’ll save time and money doing meal planning, which includes making healthy snacks ahead. You won’t be tempted to eat junk food if you don’t have unhealthy snacks available.
- Go through all the same motions you would if you worked outside the home. Take a shower first thing in the morning, get dressed, and brush your hair and your teeth. Treat your stay-at-home job as you would one where you went to an office.
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