When Emma went back to school last fall, I decided I needed to get serious about exercise again. From September through December I walked at least 4 days a week, usually doing three to five miles. Either friends joined me or I went alone with an audio book to keep me occupied. Around the holidays, I got a bad cold and by the time I felt better, winter had set in, dropping snow on a weekly basis. Since then I’ve managed to get in a few sporadic workouts but haven’t re-established my old habit. This morning, knowing more snow was coming, I squeezed in a walk after Emma went to school. I felt energized when I got home, and it made me think about healthy habits. Trying to get my life organized takes a lot of mental energy, so I think I need to make some changes to improve my physical energy. Here’s my plan:

Exercise:

At the risk of sounding like one of those people who doesn’t like anything, I must confess I don’t like to exercise. I have a small collection of exercise DVD’s but I prefer to be outside. I love walking, especially since I live near a paved trail with lots of beautiful scenery, and I love hiking, but that’s about it.

This morning I thought about walking around my neighborhood, where the snow is mostly gone. But my neighborhood’s very hilly and I was feeling puny. So I headed over to the trail, assuming it would be in decent shape. I was wrong.

There’s a trail under there somewhere!

After 37 minutes and 18 seconds of feeling impressed with myself for not face-planting, I gave up. But if this new round of snow isn’t too bad I’ll try walking around the neighborhood next week. My goal for next week is to walk at least three days, which I’ll choose when I have a better idea about the forecast. I’ve seen two elderly neighbors out walking in 20 degree temps so I won’t allow myself to wimp out if it’s cold.

Bedtime:

I have definite night owl tendencies, though at this point it means I stay up until midnight and not 3 a.m., which was my pre-parenthood norm on non-work days. My goal is to be out of bed by 6:30 because I enjoy the quiet before Emma gets up. For so many years I’d be running almost as soon as my feet hit the floor, because if I missed the 5:55 train I’d be late for work. Now, I drag myself up around 7, which still gives me plenty of time to help Emma get ready for school. But I want to consistently get up earlier and be more purposeful. When I’m able to do a few chores before she leaves it sets a better tone for the day.

I don’t really know how much sleep I need beyond thinking that seven hours doesn’t cut it. This article was helpful and worth a read if you’re having similar challenges.

Miscellaneous:

• Decluttering: I donated some more stuff yesterday. I rescued those chairs a few years ago from a neighbor’s trash, gave them a coat of spray paint and swapped out the avocado vinyl for fabric. I loved them but no longer had any use for them so it was time to get them go.
  

  Getting back into my donation groove.

• Laundry: This post, which I shared on our Facebook page, was helpful. I’m not doing a good job with our ‘all in a day’ approach but having one designated laundry day was one of the tips shared here. I decided to make Sunday my folding day. By then everything will be washed and Emma can begin learning to fold her clothes. When she and I are done with her clothes I will motivate myself by watching some Dr. Who on Netflix while I fold the rest.
• Meals: I’m all planned for next week. I’m not obsessing like I usually do which made it much faster. I’m also going to use the slow cooker which will get us two nights of dinners, and I froze half the shepherd’s pie I made for St. Patrick’s Day, which we’ll also have next week.

I hope everyone has a great weekend!