Workouts for when you’re busy being productive

Whenever life gets busy, exercise is the first thing to go. It’s a shame, since staying healthy and moving your body a little bit everyday is one of the best ways to stay fit and healthy. I absolutely adore keeping fit. If a day goes by and I’ve not had chance to do some form of movement, no matter how little, then I’ve not had a very good day.

At work right now, I’m in one of the quieter seasons. I’ve not very much marking to do, other than the constant churn of exam groups, meaning that I’m generally a lot more able to squeeze in exercise. Whenever we have end-of-cycle assessments, I can’t seem to fit in movement. I’ll get to the end of the day and either want to crash on my bed at home, suffering from mental exhaustion, or keep on working to cut down on the amount that I need to do at the weekend. Exercise goes by the wayside.

If we follow that pattern for a few weeks, you can quickly become lethargic. Compound the problem with less sleep, which I think is one of the more important things that you need to invest your time and money into, and you’re building your body into a site that’s fit for disaster.

Here’s what I like to do to keep myself active when work is at its busiest. The final exercise tip, about accountability buddies, will help you to foster these habits for life.

Pick your parking spot carefully

If I have a lot to do in a day, and know that I won’t have time for any exercise, I’ll park right outside my classroom. Doing so means that I’ll be able to escape quickly to either leave and work from home, or I’ll be able to work for an extended period of time and won’t feel unnecessarily delayed when I decide to leave site.

However, if I know that I won’t have much time for exercise that week, I’ll purposely try to park far away from my classroom. As a result, I’ll have to go for a 3-minute walk to get to where I’ve parked my car. Better yet, if I park next to the on-site gym, I might feel more obliged to put in an hour there, rather than staying sat behind my desk, face-first into an exercise book, red pen in hand.

A walk in the park

I’m lucky in that there are a few parks a short drive or walk away from where I live, making it easy to pop out after work, or on the way home, for a quick stroll to absorb some fresh air. If I need to pop to the shops, too, then I’ll be forced to walk through, or at least next to, the park, making a visit almost mandatory.

Of course it’s not the same as lifting heavy weights in a gym, or practising martial arts, but if a walk is all that I can get in a day, I’ll take it. Teachers are quite lucky in that we need to walk around all day as part of our job to be able to check-in on our students, meaning that I’ll often end a day on between 7,000-10,000 steps regardless of whether I get that post-work stroll in.

At-home workouts

Frustratingly, I sometimes leave going to the gym a little too late in the day. If I get home in the winter, especially, I’ll be even more likely to skip an evening walk and instead stay inside all night. No matter: I invested in a very nice, affordable, training mat to give me a little comfort while it’s in use, leaving me able to do as many at-home workouts as I might want.*

I’ve got a couple of favourites. I really enjoy following the 10, 15 and 30-minute workouts by MadFit on Youtube, but equally, Samsung Health offers some great routines that you can follow along. My number one, though, is using my iFit membership, putting my phone’s display on the TV, and following one of the trainer’s 20-to-30-minute routines, complete with weights and stretches, as they work out on a beach, or up a mountain, or in the studio.

Sticking with iFit is probably the most consistent way for me to stay in shape and meet my fitness goals without actually attending the gym.

Accountability buddies

Accountability buddies are the most important building blocks for sticking to your goals. Having one will make you that much more likely to stick to your New Year’s Resolutions, which may well have faltered by now, but they’re so much more impactful than that. I even recommend having accountability buddies to my students to keep them on track with homework and revision.

The essence of an accountability buddy is that they’ll ensure that you stick to your goals, because they’re training towards similar goals, too. Whether it’s that you’re both studying for the same exam and want to keep on track, or you’ve both decided to write a book – or anything else that will lead to a measurable outcome. Having an accountability buddy will help you stick to your goals because you won’t want to let the other person down. You could even go one step further and promise to transfer your buddy £20 for every week that you fail to stick to your habits and goals if it’ll help you to accomplish them. Of course, money might not be an issue if you’ve already worked your way through the six levels towards financial freedom.

Establish an accountability buddy and you might one day find that you don’t need to do these exercises because they won’t take too much of your evening. Instead, sticking to a normal, regular routine that you’re happy with will start to feel so much more attainable.

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Hardly Hamilton

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