Nothing energizes me like exercise (and, er, the kind IK mentioned, also), so I do make time for it. As others have said, it helps to schedule it. Just block the time off like you would for an appointment at work and there is no disputing it. I try to ensure that I have 3- 5 booked exercise sessions per week -- whether they be working with a trainer, working on my own with weights, going to yoga, or going to a class. Some weeks I only manage a couple of scheduled sessions, but I do find the scheduling helps. For a while I did get up early for this -- 6:30 am classes twice a week. And I liked that. But my cross fit classes changed the start time to 6 and moved to a more distant location, so I'm sort of out of luck on that for now and have had to adjust to another time slot.
For me, the best balance is 3 to 4 sessions of intense exercise (whatever form - just ensuring there are a couple of sessions of resistance training), along with 2 or 3 days of less intense exercise -- maybe walking or a short jog or yoga or skating with my daughter. If I start to feel exhausted, I know I need to cut back on the intensity. If I start to feel restless, I know I need to increase it. So I just play it by ear. And always aim to do at least some of my weekly activity outdoors.
Increasingly, I do active stuff with my daughter. We went skating on the Ottawa Canal yesterday; it was amazing! And we sometimes do hikes or workouts in the park. I don't expect she'll want to continue this for too much longer with her mother (she's 14) but you never know, and for now, I am making the most of it, because just as I don't have very many "fashion" friends IRL, I also lack for "fit friends" IRL, sadly.
My creative work is also very important to me. It's not energizing, but it's grounding. It keeps me humble and connected to what matters to me most. I am sad to say that making time for that, now that I am working full time and trying to raise a kid and deal with an older family member who needs care, is really tough. In the hours and spare minutes that I have away from work and other obligations, I tend to come here instead of applying myself to my own projects. Mind you, I love it here, and fashion is creative also. Plus, this place seems to fill a need for community somehow -- I love you guys!!!
But I need to make things out of words. So right now I am in the process of trying to figure out a better balance. I tried the super-early waking for creative work and it did not help me -- I can be active at that hour but not creative. Figuring out a good rhythm given the current exigencies of my life is a work in progress. For now, my occasional retreats are my only solution.
I also love to read, of course. But that sort of goes without saying.
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