Logistics advice: how to fit in workouts on busy days

[kat999]

My goal for the rest of the year is to try to work out six days a week. The issue is that I am in-person at my job two days a week, and those are basically 11-hour days due to having a very long commute. I have to leave by 8 am and don't get home until 7 pm. I get up around 6:30, but due to how exhausted this schedule makes me feel, I almost never have a chance to squeeze in a workout before I have to leave; it's kind of all I can do to wake up, eat breakfast, and get myself ready. I'm a teacher, and so I get a little paranoid about looking my best, so I probably take too long to primp and whatnot.

I've considered fitting in a workout in the evenings, but then the same issue exists just at the end of the day: I'm exhausted. I'm basically in the car for almost 3 hours, I'm on my feet for 3 hours, and there's no way to work out during anything like a lunch break or anything, mostly due to COVID closures of campus rec facilities.

On my work-from-home days, I have all kinds of flexibility. I get up around 7, work out around 10, and fit in all my tasks around it. I sometimes even have time to go on a long run outdoors if the weather's good. I can even squeeze in a studio yoga class sometimes. It's all extremely doable, and obviously I have the same kind of freedom on the weekends.

So what do I do on my teaching days? Try to get up an extra half hour earlier and just suck it up and do it? Do it after dinner or before bed? I'm just at a loss, and I can tell that I'm suffering by only exercising five days a week.

I've got a lot of shorter workouts so I know I have things I can do that are also probably even either gentle if I do it at night or high energy if I do it in the morning. I know I could even work out in my PJs if I can't summon the wherewithal to change clothes. This is just some kind of mental block, and I need some advice on getting past it.