I always make the next day’s to-do list before quitting for the night. This says what I intend to do and roughly when I intend to do it.
On Wednesday, I put on my plan for Thursday that I would get up early(ish) and run on the treadmill. No one had to be up before 7 a.m., so I was going to set my alarm for 6:20 a.m., a time that allows me to be up and running by 6:30-6:35 or so, giving me a 25-minute workout, more or less. I have done this a few times since our new morning schedule started with the new school year. (I used to have to be up around 6:30 so this isn’t even any earlier than what I was doing all last year!)
However, as I was getting into bed on Wednesday night, I realized that I absolutely did not want to wake up at 6:20 a.m. I did not want to get into my exercise clothes and force myself to run. I wanted to have a more soft start to the day — something I’ve been wanting most days. I don’t really want to be up and running.
So…maybe running early is not the right plan for me right now. The good news is that I work at home and have a pretty flexible schedule. Most days I need a mental break by mid-afternoon. So I’m planning on blocking out an hour (1-2? 1:30-2:30?) at least a few days a week to go for a run when it’s light and when it’s the warmest it will be in winter. Or I can go on the treadmill and since that’s in the same room as my weights, do a strength workout too. That’s what I wound up doing Thursday afternoon. Maybe I’ll be a little smelly after but…hey, working from home. If I have anywhere important to go later I can clean myself up.
I have written a lot about morning routines (and I host a podcast called Before Breakfast!) but I am on record noting that there’s no reason to get up early to do stuff just to do so. The reason morning exercise works for a lot of people is that this is the only time when it fits. They can’t just stop working from 1-2 p.m. and exercise. They need to get home after work and can’t stop somewhere for an hour to exercise. And by late at night very few people want to exercise. But if I can exercise in the middle of the day, I don’t actually need to get up early. So there’s no real reason to force myself.
In other news: Content round-up! This week, over at Before Breakfast, the longer episode was an interview with Lisa Woodruff. She’s the founder of Organize 365, a company that teaches people how to get their life and stuff in order. She is running a business and getting her PhD simultaneously, so she’s not only got organization tips, she’s got a lot of personal time management tips too. Please check that out!
Other Before Breakfast episodes included “Make hay while the sun shines” (it’s often wise to change things slightly to take advantage of a temporary opportunity) and “If you want to run more, sign up for a race.” While I don’t plan to run any more half marathons any time soon, my Thanksgiving 5k is motivating me to do some speed work…
My new Substack newsletter is called “Vanderhacks” and it features an every-weekday-morning tip. This week I suggested ideas so people “Don’t get lost in transition” (are you more like a tiny boat or a big oil tanker when it comes to turning yourself around?) and behind the paywall I suggested “Little ways to level up your career” — ten things you can do today to make your career more resilient. The current cadence is 3 free and 2 paid posts per week. Please check it out and consider subscribing!
Over at the Best of Both Worlds Patreon community, we had a great discussion of all things meal planning during our monthly Zoom meet-up. The video is available to members. This week we’ve also been discussing teen jobs (our own and our kids’) and music lessons (a surprising source of mental load around here…)
And here’s a sonnet, called “Portland 7:45a.m.” — when I was out running (but NOT at 6:20 a.m….)
By day the heat is gentle, here the sun
has tilted, rising lower in the sky.
October feels like summer, just for fun,
comes visit for a bit before goodbye.
I run between the bricks, the city leaves
have yellowed, and the wind blows off the sound.
A hulking ship pulls in, the port receives
its guest, and I can see its bulk around
the bend, where little sails are speckled, bright
just like the clouds. A dog runs on the sand.
This morning, like all mornings, brings new light,
and all the past’s a shadow, where the hand
of time has left it. See, the bar’s old hose
will splash away the night, which — swirling — goes.
After I retired I continued swimming lengths at 6:30am because I figured the pool would be busier later in the day and also worried I wouldn’t be motivated later. Wrong on both counts! The 6:30 slot was full of before work swimmers and a surprising number of keen retirees, while at 10:30 I often have a lane to myself. Now I get up at 7, drink a cup of tea, read, maybe do a strength video, have breakfast, and stroll over to the pool after 10. Rethinking the morning was very liberating.
* was also motivated to swim later after crossing paths with a coyote on the way to the pool in the early morning dark!
@Louise – a coyote! That might have kept me from going to the pool forever. Yeah, sometimes it’s nice to have a slower start to the day. I probably will still get up early to run some days when it otherwise wouldn’t fit in, but it’s not my first choice these days.
I’ve come to a similar realization over the past couple years. I keep trying to force myself to use that early morning window for exercise (I get up early anyway, usually by 5:15-5:30) because in truth, it would be very convenient and would ensure I don’t miss my workout. (Plus it just makes sense to workout before showering for the day!) But in reality, I JUST DON’T WANT TO. Haha. I usually spend that first hour before everyone else is up quietly drinking tea, planning my day, reading a little, updating my time log, catching up on some blogs or writing a post, or doing a few other little household admin things on the computer. It’s just too enjoyable to trade out for a bright, cold, gym at that time of day! I’m starting to just accept it and stop thinking that it’s going to happen.
@Grateful Kae- yeah, I’m with you on this. I feel differently in summer when I can run outside early. But that would involve a cold shock to the system after about October 1st. So, a slower start to the day it is. I generally do fit in exercise (more than most people for sure) and I’m not training for a marathon, so it’s probably all good.