Clear Priorities allow Clear Focus

No doubt that any athlete with a family and a job has trouble finding the opportunities to make the most of consistent training. Kids, spouse, housework, yardwork, cars, maintenance, burned out light bulbs, dirty diapers, throwing the balls around, time at the park, etc etc etc.....they all add up to missed workouts because we all put our families first (as it should be).

So how to solve that problem? Set clear priorities of effort for spouses based on time of the day or whatever will work for you and allows you to focus on what you want during a specific period of time. My personal example is below.

The last two months have been hard for me because Noah is still waking up at night and early morning. That means I never know if I'll be able to get in a morning workout session. Last year worked great because Paul almost always slept til 7:30, and so I would get 100% priority from 4:30am - 6:40am for my workouts....if Paul needed anything between those hours, Tera would take care of it. And then from 6:40 until he left for school, I would take care of Paul. Tera and I had a deal that clearly defined the priorities of each of us for a set period of time, and that allowed us both to succeed in our goals.

So tonight we made the deal again, a bit different, but the deal has been made. I will get up and give Noah a bottle anytime after we go to bed, and then I get to not worry about it from 4:30am - 6:40 again, just like last year. This allows us to both KNOW EASILY what is supposed to happen in the fog of the night. No questions. No arguing. We both understand what is supposed to be happening.  I get to KNOW that I'm going to workout in the morning, and the added pressure of that being my only "window of opportunity" will get me out of bed. Tera gets to know that she'll be able to workout in the morning, too. And, most importantly, our kids will be taken care of appropriately. The juggling act is solved, at least for now. If Noah starts sleeping all night, then I'll be that much happier.

Other examples could be a specific time right after the work day, like 5:30pm - 6:30pm where you get to do a workout after work, but then take the kids the rest of the night. Even if that is the deal for just one night per week, it is one night per week that you get to focus. Choose a night that doesn't have many interruptions that can break the deal....the maturity level comes with how you handle it if you get home later than expected and realize you only have 30 minutes instead of an hour....then what? You shutup and do 30 minutes because that was the deal.  Trying to muster more out of the deal because of circumstances neither of you can control doesn't help anyone. Roll with it, and go for something for the 30 minutes in the name of consistency and keeping the deal.

Or it could be a three hour period on Saturday or Sunday morning. Again, the deal is the deal. If the weather sucks or you drank the night before and can't get the whole workout in, that's just the way it is. You get your allotted time period -- no more and no less -- so that the other person can have their time. They've surely planned it out to maximize the time, and screwing with the timeline could break the whole deal.  Obviously, there is some give and take on this, but if you are giving more than you are taking, then you need to realize the deal is probably in jeapordy.