If I only have 10 minutes, I’m going to make every second count.

You probably don’t have time to read this blog post. But let’s pretend you’re multi-tasking, reading this while you wait in line at Starbucks or are on the can (hopefully not at Starbucks), and you’re not feeling like you had to find the time to scroll through. Because it’s only when we are already doing something not so enjoyable, that we feel justified to tack on another activity that does cause some pleasure. This is evidenced by the number of Candy Crush games I see being played among the sardine masses smushed together on my train.

I know I don’t have time for anything. I don’t. Don’t even ask me. You know I don’t, because I’m just like you. Here’s what we are all busy with:

comparing prices on vacations we’ll never take

texting grocery lists to loved ones

food shopping

food prep

cleaning up after meals

bathing small humans

checking homework

paying bills

clearing clutter (at least enough to form a path from the front door to the bedroom)

commuting

digging through our pockets for a Metrocard with enough money

chewing off hangnails (our own or those of the small humans who live with us)

walking pets

buying birthday cards

sharing our Buzzfeed test results

scheduling doctor appointments

enrolling a small human in UPK

packing lunches

unpacking uneaten lunches

maintaining chore/reward charts

trying to find that thing we can’t find

sewing/ironing/taping on Girl Scout patches

shuttling small humans to soccer, dance, art, piano, Thai school, Greek school, Hebrew school

doing, folding and putting away laundry

updating our Google calendars

weeding through and discarding dried up lipsticks, markers, glue and Play-Doh

looking at craft projects we won’t do

searching for recipes we won’t make

cursing tiny Legos

Back-pedaling after cursing

reading bedtime stories

work: researching, writing, calling, proposing, budgeting, meeting, revising, re-scheduling

sleeping

reminding our partners about that thing we need to remind them about

convincing our partners that we’re not nagging

scrolling through the Netflix queue

Chucking expired milk, coupons and gym memberships

And a lot of other stuff I haven’t listed.

So where, in the 24 hours that constitute one day, would we find the time to work out?

This is where 10 minutes come in.

Last week I decided that I needed to re-commit to health. Not weightloss, not being cut. Just, general health. Being more active, having more energy and staying hydrated.

There are some things I can’t control. An editor having an off day, the weather, my daughter’s tendency to dress like a 1920s vaudeville act. But I needed to be more in control of how I was feeling. And I always felt better when I was able to exercise.

So I’m finding 10 minutes wherever I can. I throw on whatever I need to. Sometimes I don’t bother with socks. I don’t “fix” my hair. I just say: “10 minutes now.” And nothing else happens in those 10 minutes other than me pushing for maximum intensity, because if you only have 10 minutes, you have GOT to go hard. I’m finding awesome FREE interval training videos on the Lionsgate BeFIT channel on Youtube.

It’s only been about 6 days, but it’s paying off. I feel more energized. I’m less sore today than I was Monday. And I’m finding that I could squeeze in a couple of 10-minute sessions in a day. Even if one of them is at 10 o’clock at night.

Read a decent amount of fitness articles, especially in women’s magazines, and you’ll find you can be painted into a corner trying to work out the perfect way. Most people will tell you you shouldn’t exercise at night. But I believe exercising at night is better than not exercising at all. Working out certain muscle groups on the same day is not recommended. But I can’t think about it, or take the time to note it in some exercise journal. If I stop and think, I lose momentum.

I just have to do it. 10 minutes at a time. I’ll let you know how it goes.

What can YOU do in 10 minutes that will make you feel better?