Life Snapshot: The Post-It That Actually Helped

Yesterday was Monday... and not just any Monday but the day after the kids had spring break, which somehow hits differently.

I couldn't quite name it at the time. Some mix of wishing I'd been more productive over the break combined with wishing I'd done more fun things with the kids and also just... Monday. That particular flavor of should-have that doesn't really point anywhere useful.

Also that morning my eldest asked me to eat cereal with them which was so cute and awesome... but not as filling as my normal fare.... which probably didn't help.

And coffee... my friend gifted me a mug warmer which I'm absolutely adoring as I'm a sipper while I do stuff and not a guzzler. My husband makes the coffee before he starts work... so I've been keeping it on the warmer, sipping it between bus runs, and savoring it while working after the last kid gets on the bus. So of course I can't work out immediately while it's still hot on the warmer.

I also went into the day without a default fitness plan picked out and so when I got sucked into work I didn't fight it... and suddenly it was past noon, I was hangry, hadn't moved, and felt like I'd accomplished nothing.

It sucked. And I realized something had to change. Not dramatically. Just... something small and concrete.

I'd been looking at a MadFit morning yoga program... it had started that day and promised 30 minutes or less, six days a week, for two weeks. It wasn't hardcore. I'd been meaning to try it all day but it's called Rise... and by afternoon that felt a little beside the point. So right after lunch, I wrote myself a post-it note... and stuck it on top of the workout clothes I already laid out in the bathroom. Just a little reminder not to dilly-dally on my phone when I wake up the next morning. To just get going.

This morning I moved quicker and managed to get the 30 minute flow before the kid-time. It wasn't hard. It wasn't strenuous. No sweat. Part of me still has that voice that says that doesn't really count. But I've now moved my body already today.

And after the rainy bus run morning I'm sitting at my computer with a third of the cup of coffee left and I can already tell myself: I already moved today. If I get pulled into the work, it's okay. If I take a break later to move again, that's bonus.

I didn't use an app for this. I used a sticky note and a low enough bar that I could actually clear it. Let's see if it holds for the rest of the two weeks.