Stress

SINGAPORE: “The concept of time is basically nonexistent here with our long working hours.” This was the opening line a netizen wrote in an online forum on Thursday (March 6). In his post, he expressed his curiosity about how people working in the corporate world manage to get through a five-day work from-office setup and still manage to include exercising at the gym in their schedules.

“Coupled with having to juggle between sleep, work, personal time and gym, how do you manage?” he said. “In my eyes, you guys are the successful people in society.”

Many responded to the post, sharing that it’s a matter of time management. “Sleep early. Wake up early. Goto the gym before work before rush hour,” said one. “Shower after the gym and head to work full of endorphins and feeling fresh. Gym is personal time, it can be done.”

Others said that what works for them is to go to the gym at night after they get off work. Either way, the common factor that many comments would have is that they purposefully schedule gym time as part of their routine.

“Find a gym that is near your office,” said another. “Some people prefer to go to the gym before work. Personally, I prefer to go after work. Some people manage to squeeze in some time during lunch. It is do-able. Remember, there was no such thing as WFH before Covid and people managed to do it too.”

There were also those who pointed out that making gym time part of one’s schedule is much easier for people without kids. “If you have kids it’s very difficult,” shared one. “I find that the only way to exercise is to cycle to and fro from the office other than weekends.”

Another commenter said, “I go to the gym after work and specifically to a gym near my office. If I know I have plans after work, I try to go during lunch instead. I used to feel drained and lethargic every day cause of work but going to the gym helped a lot.”

They added, “I’m not going to lie, it’s gonna be difficult to kickstart this habit especially if your energy levels are low by the time you end work. Some days it’s still a struggle for me cause there are days I just don’t feel like doing anything either. But when I manage to get (myself) to the gym, it makes me feel a whole lot better.”

According to Harvard Health, regular exercise can help people manage stress. Aside from improved physical health, its benefits also include neurochemical effects. While exercise brings down the body’s stress hormones, it also stimulates endorphin production.