Good habits/hacks you have developed to create time/make life easier

I’m fully committing to getting fit again – but there is the challenge of fitting it all in. I have a busy job (like everyone), home life, a dog to be walked, an elderly parent to care for and so on.

I have no expectation of perfect plan compliance, but I want to make progress without dropping other balls or failing to show up on the home front.

I imagine the situation is broadly the same for everyone here.

So, what habits/hacks/shortcuts have you found to help you keep multiple plates spinning?

I’m addicted to my mobile phone.

I’m currently uninstalling IG during the week, still visiting STW though…

Delete Facebook, Instagram, TikTok any other infinite scrolling time wasters.

Quit alcohol. Sleep better, feel better. Literally all positives with no downsides.

If you don’t wash dishes but just leave them in the sink, someone magically washes them and puts them away for you. Same with laundry.

The only way that my wife and I can be the prime we want to be is to schedule stuff/merge things none negotiable.

At both have 2 blocks of time a week that are sacrosanct.

Anything else fits in around that

For fitness running helps. Pairs nicely with having a dog and doesn’t add much time. Get up, throw on some shorts and a t-shirt, 5k slow run with the dog with a few stops, back home, shower and dressed. We foster rescue dogs and they love jogging. It’s the perfect pace to keep them focused and way better for their joint health than chasing balls and sticks. Works quite well without a dog too.

Do need to come up with a catchy term for jogging with a dog, maybe a portmanteau ;)

Get a job you can walk/cycle to, no messing about getting stuck in traffic or waiting for late trains, the amount of my colleagues lives they waste on the delays and then moaning about the delays is huge + it gets a bit of exercise into your day and wakes you up. Can you run with the dog? Sets of pushups/squats everytime you goto the kitchen for food/brew.

This is kind-of my job, as well as a personal challenge for me like everyone.

The best “hack” I can offer for you is to put the exercise in the same mental category as work.

So it’s not something you would like to do, or think would be nice if it happened – it’s something you have to do.

Then when you’ve done it for a while, it’ll be a habit and you’ll know how to make it happen.

Also:

– Make plans with pals for accountability

– Get your gear ready the night before

– Find exercise you actually enjoy doing (or run ‘cos it’s convenient)

Not a hack as such but I walk to work a few days a week. My wife works 2 miles away from my office, I get a lift with her, then walk the 2 miles into work, at the end of the day I walk the 2 miles back. So typically I’ll do that 3 days a week, over time it’s made a real difference to me. Bot physically and mentally. I’ve lost over 2 stone and feel so much better having time to get prepared for work on the way in and decompress on the way back.

One of my work mates has started doing something similar, he just parks a couple of miles away from the office now and walks in. He’s beginning to see the benefits as well, shedding weight and being less stressed when he arrives in the mornings.

Set up a custom reminders list on your phone for the shopping list. Share it with other people in the household.

Same goes for meal planning. Just make the checked options visible and uncheck them to put them back in the plan.

#useofhacklifeban

Find exercise you actually enjoy doing (or run ‘cos it’s convenient)

Applies also for career (the other default option is spending your entire life doing a  job you don’t like).

I do stretching and some strength work every day around 9:30 in the evening. The telly is usually on and Mrs Ampthill is around.

The routine works and it just feels like free time. I still watching the telly and it helps me unwind. Less good with subtitles though

Another one is the one escaping the car for one leg of a family journey

We use to take the kids swimming. I’d get the kids into the car and then unload my bike and ride home. The kids are mellow post swim and my wife was happy from me to arrive home an hour after them.

A mate does something similar visiting his mum/ kids grandma

My hack is to just not bother working.

Hours are great but the pay is terrible.

My bike commute adds an hour to the total journey time of driving but I’m exercising for 1hr 45mins. That my friend is an excellent time hack. And saves me petrol money too.

Keep your rearmost fingers inside the handle when ‘hack’ sawing. That’s a good habit.

If you don’t wash dishes but just leave them in the sink, someone magically washes them and puts them away for you. Same with laundry.

We have a group WhatsApp chat, where we build the shopping list. Makes the trip to the supermarket easier as we have a common list and can split up.

We also bought a lascalle ridealong board for the pram. Allows one of us to push/carry 3 kids. Much easier than chasing after them all, saves about 10mins/day on the slow walk to school/crèche.

Eat less, cook less, wash less, cost less and more time.

Prep stuff the night before, so to avoid procrastinating and wasting time finding that missing glove/car-key/bike lights.

Never use the lift or the escalators, always use the stairs.

Sets of pushups/squats everytime you goto the kitchen for food/brew.

I’ve lost count of the times i’ve intended to do those kind of things and just completely forgotten.

But, I have no problem fitting in 3-4 2-hour rides a week.

Running every day for me was always a question of “when” not “if” I would be flexible where I needed to but those around me knew I would be exercising at some point. Running is easier than some sports, just put your gear on and run. When time was tight I would run early or run home from work or get dropped off 6 miles from home when returning from somewhere etc. There is almost always time to get some exercise in if you really want to. Fortunately for me me my wife realises the (largely mental now) benefits of exercise for me so is always supportive.

Never use the lift or the escalators, always use the stairs.

I live in a bungalow.

I like a pattern, so if I do it for a while becomes what I do now. I wasn’t using any of my weights, I also felt that I never found time for it, so I set my alarm earlier 2 days a week and now I don’t think about making time I have a slot on a Tuesday and Thursday morning where I get up and either lift or run.

Hopefully this continues now it going to mean getting up in the dark for several months!

I ride to work, night ride Wednesday and longer ride Sunday morning.

I’ve bought my houses to make riding to work achievable.

That’s kept me reasonably fit for the last 20 years. Could always be fitter.

My wife’s folks live 130 miles away. I’ll ride down a few times a year. The need to be able to manage the ride sees me build up a few 50 then 80 mile road rides for the month before. I know I can finish the distance.

Set a challenge, make some stuff regular

Earbuds have two places they should be and never ever anywhere else: in your ears or in their charging case. I also only use mine at work at my desk so that limits their ability to be placed down randomly somewhere!

Turn off ALL notifications on your phone and set it to silent.  Permanently. I use my watch to notify me of calls. WhatsApp does not call the watch.

A permanent Zwift set up, with iPad for app and TV to watch Eurosport cycling and/or Netflix. It’s easy finding 30 min of group riding at any power you fancy. I’m sure you can find 30 min to watch TV each day. Why not pedal at the same time?

I stopped working through lunchtime and started taking my lunch hour at work.  I use it to go swimming or out for a 3-5km walk 2-3 times a week.

I have 6 work shirts, 3 work jumpers and 3 work trousers which are on rotation.

Getting them out the night before saves me deliberating in a sleepy haze.

I pack my bag the night before for whatever the following day entails.

Absolutely key for me has been a good sit down with my wife every now and again where we talk about what we want for ourselves time-wise, why it’s important and how we can make it happen. We both recognise that getting excercise is an important part of self-care and that we’re better at parenting if we’re looking after ourselves. We’ve tried blocking out non-negotiable time for each other but it didn’t fit with our circumstances. Having someone be actively supportive of finding the time means that I never feel like I’m letting the side down if I’m not there for a morning.

Oh and we got a cargo bike for school dropoff which keeps the wolf from the door fitness-wise.

I wear earplugs at night and sleep much better for them.

Get up at the same time every day, no lie ins.

Enforce lunchtime – either use it for exercise or to have a proper meal to free up evening time.

@Kramer Interested in the earplugs – I’ve always worried they’d be too uncomfortable. Which ones do you have please?

Sold everything I didn’t want nor need.

Gave up our (rented) flat.

Quit the rat race.

Moved into a van.

A few months work a year more than covers my outgoings/needs. GF works part time, 2-3 days a week.

Reduced outgoings means less time spent earning money to cover them.

Not needing 1600€/month just to pay the rent and bills frees up lots of time.

Ironically I’m back in Munich now working and although I’ve only been here a week it’s been enough time to remind me why we left.

Watch Happiness by Steve Cutts on YouTube.

@Jolsa these

work from home and do the housework during a boring meeting.