Morning People - 5am work out — when is bedtime?

[Anonymous]

What in the world are you cooking that requires sweeping and mopping every single night?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Working parent here, two full time jobs only 2x week WFH, 3 kids from elem to high school.

Afternoons are impossible because we pick up kids, have dinner; then run to activities and sports until around 9pm at night. I’ve tried to get workout during activities but usually logistics prevent anything more than a walk.

What I need to do is get up at 5am so can gym 530-630, then be ready to take kids to school by 7am, then off to work.

But getting home at 9, by time kitchen is tidy, and house is put back together it’s like 11pm, and then I get to bed. Going to bed 11pm/12am makes a 5am workout really hard.

Anyone BTDT? I wish we had a housekeeper or driving nanny, but not enough $$$ to make happen.

Turn the walk into a run.

[Anonymous]

Instead of spending two hours cleaning between 9 and 11, exercise at 9. That sounds more feasible than getting up at 4:30 a.m.

If you are cooking dinner every night, DH can clean up at least some nights. It's not the end of the world if you don't work out everyday like the PP's who are trying to shame you for "not prioritizing exercise."

[Anonymous]

Can you workout at lunch time, OP? That seems the obvious solution to me, particularly on your WFH days. I used to get up at 5 am to run pre-2020, and while it was nice to get it done early, I was exhausted all the time. The rest of your schedule already sounds exhausting without the added annoyance of waking up in the dark.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Instead of spending two hours cleaning between 9 and 11, exercise at 9. That sounds more feasible than getting up at 4:30 a.m.

If you are cooking dinner every night, DH can clean up at least some nights. It's not the end of the world if you don't work out everyday like the PP's who are trying to shame you for "not prioritizing exercise."

No one is shaming. We’re stating the obvious - if you cannot workout on *any* day, it isn’t a priority.

OP- you want to incorporate working out into your schedule, then something in your current schedule will need to change regardless of what time of day you workout.

Personally, I think you’ll need to shift your (and maybe your DH’s) mindset too. If you work out 30-60 minutes on 2 weekdays, you are not “ignoring” your children. That’s just cope/martydom/denial from actually having to make change. Change is hard.

[Anonymous]

Make the kids clean the house while you exercise. If they are spending any time on screens at any point in the week, it’s a waste of their time. They can exercise, study, read books, or clean.

[Anonymous]

You need to prioritize activities. We used to cook 100% from scratch when kids were little. I’d love to still do that but there’s no time for it. Bag salad and store-bought ravioli are now in regular rotation. If that means I have time to work out, it’s ultimately the healthy choice. We also do meal prep on the weekends. Kids do their own laundry 70% of time. There definitely is no daily mopping. And I often work out when home with them in evening when kids are around instead of directly “managing” them (?). If they need someone to look over their shoulder doing homework they can come sit by the peloton.

In sum, do less, have kids do more, go to bed at 9.

[Anonymous]

OP - I’m in a similar situation with ms kids and late into the evening activities and no housekeeper. My spouse works out of town and is gone 4 nights a week. You have to prioritize and let some things go if you want to get morning exercise in.

I’m not sweeping or wiping down counters or anything like that in the evening. I’m going to be so I can wake up early and work out. It’s bare minimum effort on the housekeeping front. Cooking will also take a back seat until spring sports are over. Easy meals taken to the fields, which also minimizes clean up.

[Anonymous]

5 am workout, bedtime by 10 pm

[Anonymous]

9-10 pm

[Anonymous]

I am not a morning people exercise person, but I wake up at 5 am to go to work.
I go to bed at 9 PM. I am 53 years old and suffer from remnants of chronic Lyme. Prior to that and when I was younger, I could go to bed at 11 and be fine at 5 am.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I go to bed by 8:30 but the secret is I don’t stay up “putting my kitchen back together.” I don’t care if there’s dishes in the sink. I’m going to bed.

+1. I don’t go to bed that early, but I just can’t keep everything clean and organized every night if I also fit in a workout and kids’ activities. I prioritize exercise, so I have to slack on other things.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What in the world are you cooking that requires sweeping and mopping every single night?

Right? Sweeping, maybe, but my floor gets mopped every other Thursday when the cleaning ladies come.

[Anonymous]

Hi OP, I get up at 5:15 and workout from 6 to 7:15, then shower and get to my desk and my first standing call by 8 AM. I work from home. I go to bed by 9. We aren't as scheduled as you are in the evening, and leave the house messy when it's a choice between that and getting things done. I think you have to decide what matters most to you but you are going to have to give up some amount of sleep, housekeeping, activities, work, or commute to make what you're trying to achieve happen. Absent that, as another poster said: it's math. I had a health scare two years ago, and decided that sleep and exercise had to happen, and they went to the top of the pile. If they're at the bottom of the pile for you, I'm skeptical that you'll find a way to fit them in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I missed the 2X WFH. Are you driving your kids to school? You can work out at 7 when they leave.

Yes we drive our kids to school, so 7-9 is spoken for with kids.

Spouse has the more stressful job, so usually works 8am-6pm; I finish at 430 to pickup kids, make dinner, and get them to sports/music/adhd tutor. Each individual kid only has about 2 activity a week — it’s just the older kids activities run late and the combination means I’m running around all week.

When spouse gets home at 7, handles the kids at home with their homework etc.

Then what are you doing at 7? What are you cleaning at 9? Why does it take 2 hours? It seems like you guys have time but are not using it well.

At 7pm I’m driving a kid to an activity; spouse is handling the REMAINING kids.

We make dinner from scratch every night, so I load the dishwasher, wash remaining dishes by hand, wash counters, sweep and mop before bed. Usually there’s some other chore like laundry or such that is pressing.

This is easy. Choose two/three nights where you don’t make dinner from scratch. Bagged salad and spaghetti and frozen meatballs, grilled cheese and tomato soup, brats and rice pilaf…

Each kid (and you and DH) has an evening chore for the week. E.g loading the dishwasher and handwashing, floors, unloading dishwasher and drying, counters/surfaces, collecting random clutter/tidying. It takes a while if one person does it but if everyone chips in it’s 15 minutes. We set a timer and one person chooses music. That frees up your time in the evening to either go to bed at 9 or do a workout.

Many hands make light work.