It’s time to put on your button-up pants for a reality check!

We’re a month in, perhaps you’ve learned how to be a teacher, set up a home office and bake French bread. But what about your fitness routine? You’ve given yourself all the excuses or have decided that a short break won’t hurt. Well, the short break is turning into your new normal and it’s time to get back to it.

Set your Alarm — no matter what your day entails, set your alarm and establish a morning routine. Grab your coffee, set the timer on your phone and write literally anything and everything for 10 minutes. Empty your brain by starting to write and keep that pen to paper for the entire time. When you are finished — walk yourself to a quiet place (it could be the bathroom with the noisy fan on), light a candle and meditate. Start with 5 minutes of breathing — in and out, follow your breath. There! Now you have created a nice routine that only takes 15 minutes (17 counting the coffee pour).

What’s next? Are your kids awake, do you have to be at your workstation? Take an hour on the weekend to look at your calendar and plan your week. If you have always worked out in the morning, get back to that. If you were an after-work athlete, then start there. Kids can join and call it PE, or perhaps it’s their one hour of “screen time”. Using kids and family as an excuse is just that, an excuse.

You don’t need an hour. The CrossFit class you used to take filled an hour but at-home workouts with lighter weight or body weight do not require the same warm up. You can warm up for 7 minutes and then get to it. Fitness is created in workouts that are a very intense 8–15 minutes. Choose your movements, create your strategy and get too it. You can be finished in 30 minutes.

Finally, and the most important step, let’s talk about what you are eating. You’ve tried the latest recipes, used cooking as your latest form of entertainment. It’s time to get back to basics. Eat to nourish your body. Find your routine of healthy, clean eating with a cheat meal a week. Your children will benefit too. Kids sleep better, focus better and generally feel better when they eat well. Let them help you in the kitchen. (If you can then you are a better mom than I was, but that is for another article.)

You don’t want to re-enter the world having gained the COVID 19lbs and frustrated!

Originally published on Medium.