Finding Time, When There is No Time to Train

[SBN Doug]

This post was originally published as an article in a dedicated KarateForums.com Articles section, which is no longer online. After the section was closed, this article was most to the most appropriate forum in our community.

 

It's a busy world out there. We all have our responsibilities and we all have to fulfill them in any way we can. Whether it is school, a job, band, a club, children, pets or whatever, we've got a lot going on these days. So, where in the world are we supposed to fit in our martial arts training? I mean, to my knowledge they still haven't been able to fit in that 25th hour of the day. So, what do we do?

 

This issue may be old news to some. After all, there are plenty of people that have made time to work-out. However, I still hear the same problems being expressed every day. I have to work late, the kids need help, my band practice takes up all my time and the yard needs mowing. And all of those came out of my own house alone. There is a little known art that is secretly being taught, that is said to aid those seeking the time they have lost and help them meet the deadlines they have set for themselves. It's called "Time Management". Ok, so it's not secret. However, you would think it were the way we go running around our daily lives just trying to keep up.

 

Time Management is more than just keeping track of what your appointments are. It's also tracking what ALL your time each day is spent on. It's finding the gaps you wouldn't normally see, because you're going a million miles an hour. It's finding inefficiencies in your schedule you wouldn't normally look for. As an example, I'll use myself. I moved away from where I had been training and loved my art so much I didn't want to change. However, the nearest school is over an hour away. So, there is no way I'm going to make it to class 3 times a week. I'm obviously going to have to do some training at home. Here's how my schedule worked out:

 

6:55 am: Wake up

 

7:45 am: Leave for work

 

6:00 pm: Return home

 

6:30 pm: Finish dinner

 

8:00 pm: Finish helping kids with homework

 

9:00 pm: Finish “quality” time with kids

 

9-10/11 pm: Watch some T.V., help clean up, wind down

 

11:00 pm: Get into bed, watch the news

 

12:00 pm: Lights out

 

Now that's pretty high level and you younger crowd will have a lot more individual stuff to list when I'm at work (class, clubs, rehearsals, etc.), but you get the idea. Well, until I wrote it all down, I didn't see a single space to fit anything in. After all, an hour (or two for a movie) of TV didn't seem like anything, and I certainly wasn't going to stop my activities with the kids. Still, I felt dinner wasn't the best thing to sacrifice either (although sometimes it probably should be). Plus, going to class at night is one thing. I just didn't have the motivation to train at night, alone. Then I started looking closer at the "after kids" hours. I certainly wasn't going to work out at 10:00 pm, but when you add it all up, there really is 3 hours of TV at night. So, I backed up the lights out to 11:00 pm, and tried waking up at 5:55 am. Hard at first, but it didn't take long for my body to acclimate. I began by stretching well, which was a great way to wake up. I alternate what I work on from day to day, which mixes it up well since I have 5 days to work with. And, I found that I didn't need that cup of coffee in the morning, because I was fully awake already and seemed to have more energy throughout the morning.

 

Now, this is not a sales pitch for the morning workout. I've got a teenage daughter and frankly I'm amazed she gets out the door in mornings as it is. This won't work for everyone. What this may help with is finding those hidden hours you take for granted. There are lots of books out there on time management, but don't buy them. Only buy them if you're looking for detailed help in managing your time in a lot more detail than this. However, if you're having trouble working your training into your schedule, try mapping out your day. Factor in travel time, meals, studying, etc. When you have it all listed out, try and re-arrange tasks differently. If you have a half hour space here, see if you can swap things around to make it an hour. If you HAVE to be home for this particular show, try recording it and watching it after. We all have schedules that have inefficiencies built in; it's the nature of our busy society. However, if you take time to analyze them, you may just find the time you need without sacrificing the other things you enjoy.

[Patrick]

Thank you for the submission.

[ramymensa]

Excellent post and article at the same time.

 

Being involved in all sorts of task for everyday gets you to the point when you have little time for yourself and even not at all. Setting priorities and plans for the day could help overcome this problem. Many of us here know it's difficult to do all the stuff and even train, because we can't live without it.

 

Thank you for the submission, too.

[aefibird]

Good article KSN Doug!

 

Very thought provoking too.

 

I'm sure many people complain that they haven't got the time for training or working out or going to class or whatever, but it all depends on what your priorities are and what stuff could be juggled about to make room for something else.

[Fish]

Even if you only fit in 10 or 15 minutes a day, its 10 or 15 minutes more than nothing.

[Red J]

When there is a will there is a way. Good post.

[krunchyfrogg]

Thanks for this. You're inspiring me to get into the dojo more in the weeks leading up to my wedding day.

[aefibird]

Congratulations on your forthcoming marriage!

 

When does it take place?

[krunchyfrogg]

Labor Day weekend...

 

33 days away!

[Kamiya]

Congrats, krunchyfrogg. ^_^ Good luck in all your battles up ahead! (hehe, that's strange, I didn't MEAN for that to sound like a bad thing...)