Motivation and Time Management

I ran a solid 2.4 miles at a 5.5 pace on the treadmill this morning without stopping. That is HUGE for me. (If you missed my post about wanting to become a runner, you can read it here). I credit my ability to be able to run nonstop  for so long this morning to five different things:

1. I stretched properly before I started
2. I warmed up for 10 minutes on the elliptical before heading to the treadmill
3. I thought about how awesome I’d feel afterward and also how proud I’d be to post my accomplishment on my blog
4. The soundtrack on my ipod was amazing
5. I was extremely motivated because I’d spent the entire morning being productive

I know that 2.4 miles at a 5.5 pace isn’t anything spectacular for experienced runners but it was for me and that’s all the matters.

Time Management

As you probably know, exercise is kind of like therapy. When I work out, specifically when I do any sort of cardio, I have time to think about a lot of things that matter to me. One of my goals at the beginning of the year was to procrastinate less. Over the last couple weeks, I’ve been getting up at 6am to be productive and up until today, it hasn’t really been working out for me. The number one reason is because when I wake up, I immediately open my laptop and spend hours doing pointless things online. I’ll check my email, facebook, twitter, my blog, and then repeat, clicking on the same links over and over. It’s stupid and it wastes time I could be using doing something else.

I’ve been thinking about it over the past couple days. I don’t have class on Tuesdays and Thursdays until 4:15pm. I reserve those days for the gym (along with Saturday and Sunday). I usually do the 30-Day Shred or my Yoga DVD on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday (Plus I go to a Pilates class on Wednesday nights). I set a goal for myself at the beginning of this week to start working out with my exercise DVDs before the sun comes up so I don’t have to worry about it later in the morning. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, it is simply too cold to go out to the gym early in the morning so I end up going at around 10:00am and reserve the things that need to get done until after I leave the gym. That includes eating breakfast and doing school work. I generally have a snack before going to the gym and then eat breakfast at 11 or 12 when I get home.  The thing is, I could be doing a lot of that stuff before I go to the gym. When the weather gets warmer, I’ll be going to the gym earlier but for now I plan to use my mornings to be super productive and to get things done.

I have a lot of school work to do all the time. I am taking 5 writing and reading intensive classes because I major in journalism and minor in English. It’s just what I signed up for when I took on those areas of study. However, I don’t like spending every moment of my day stressing out about work I need to do. I love the feeling of getting things done ahead of time and not having to worry about them. I hate waiting until the last minute to do things which is something I do way too often.  So I made a change this morning and I hope that it will stick.

This is what my schedule was like this morning:

6:3o: Out of bed (usually I get up at 6 but I was super tired this morning).

6:30-7: Coffee. Check email, blog related stuff, and facebook. I closed my laptop at exactly 7:00am.

7-8: Ate breakfast while reading the newspaper. (This is another thing I procrastinate with. I need to read the paper everyday for school (and because I want to) and it usually ends up in a pile on my living room floor)

Banana Oats with cinnamon, banana raisin PB, shredded coconut, and dark chocolate chips on top

8-9: Reading for school (I am a super slow reader so required reading takes up a lot of time for me. I also take a lot of notes on what I’m reading so it takes even longer).

8:59-9:00: Freaked out a bit about the amount of oats we have left:

This is not acceptable. Call the police.

9:15-10:30: Gym (I’m lucky that my gym is right in front of my apartment complex. I have a 2 second commute time in my car. About 5 minutes walking)

10:40-11: Shower and post-workout snack:

Whole Wheat Toast with PB and a cup of unsweetened vanilla almond milk mixed with 1/2 tbsp of unsweetened cocoa

11-12:20: Blog. Closing my laptop as soon as I’m done!

As you can see, I’m right on schedule. I haven’t planned the rest of my day out in specific time increments but here’s what else I plan to do:

• Lunch
• More reading for school
• Writing for school
• Class from 4-5:30 (want to get there early because I’ve been rushing to get there on time lately)
• Read more of the newspaper and Metroland (Kind of like the Village Voice)
• Dinner
• Relax by reading blogs and watching The Mentalist tonight
• Sleep at 11 when show is over

I feel so much better when I accomplish a lot in one day.

How do you manage your time?

How do you stay motivated to get things done?

Any tips for me?

Here’s a quick recap of last night:

I had a Whole Wheat Wasa Cracker with PB and Blackberry Preserves before heading to my favorite Pilates class!

Guess what I had for dinner when I got home?!

A smiley face dough monster?!?!?!?!

If you guessed a homemade pizza, you’re right! (Used this dough recipe).

With Broccoli, Spinach, Garlic, Onions, basil, and Yellow Pepper on my half

My plate:

Eaten while watching Criminal Minds (love that show!) The other half is my lunch today.

And dessert:

Toasted Arnold Sandwich Thin with PB and Dark Chocolate Chips on top with a glass of Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk

What’s your favorite pizza topping?

Have a great day!