The never-win circle of sleep vs. working out

The alarm goes off and I hit snooze. The alarm goes off again and I have to make a major decision in my sleep-fogged mind. Do I get up and work out? Or feel better and sleep in? No matter what I choose, I have an argument with myself later that evening - because I chose wrong.

I have found that I need to work out in the morning. With kids and a full-time job, not to mention all of the extra errands that go along with these, I will never get going at lunch or after work. An impromptu meeting happens. I stop to talk to someone when picking up the kids. I forgot to run an errand. By then, one of us needs to be starting dinner or helping kids with homework. I do not feel like heading out the door. It's like the hole got deeper and I can never get enough energy to get out.

Whether or not I got up early that morning to workout, I will be tired early in the evening. But then I get a second wind and want to squeeze in a few more things before bed. I never seem to figure out how long it takes me to get ready for bed and then I resent not having any reading time. And, then I forgot to feed the cat. And my laundry needs to go in the dryer. Whoops...there I go again. It's late AGAIN.

So here it is, early in the morning and I am too tired for a full workout. Either I get up and get through it, knowing that a good night sleep will give me a better result; or I sleep in a little bit, exercise a little bit and have to rush through my morning to get out the door. Either way, I feel cheated. I'm always glad when I do get up because after the workout, I feel good. And, I'm up and most people are not. But by mid-morning, I'm tired.

Every day I tell myself will be different. And every night is later than I wanted. And every morning, the alarm seems to be too early. I'm not getting more hours in the day, so I have to realize that everything takes time and planning. I'll start tomorrow.