Adulting is kind of the worst.

You wake up just in time to leave for your job (or you wake up early like a freak to make breakfast or something else crazy), you commute to work for forever, you work for forever, then you commute back home for forever, leaving you just enough energy to eat and maybe do one more activity. Most nights, you don’t even have the energy to shower! Just kidding. *nervous laughter*

This all can make it impossible to do that daily hour of cardio with alternating arm and leg strength training days that you want to do. On the other hand, TV and ice cream don’t take any extra time or energy. Especially if you fall asleep with your hand in the tub!

While a formal exercise routine may not make it into your daily — or even weekly — schedule, there are plenty of small ways to incorporate some exercise into your life. As someone who gets bored very easily, a couple of minutes of varied exercise daily is much more entertaining than a half hour on the elliptical, wishing for death.

The first small change that I’ve made was to buy a smaller water bottle for myself to bring to work. The main reason I bought an 18 ounce water bottle was because my 32 ounce water bottle was too intimidating and I never drank out of it. You know, like any other person who is intimidated by large vessels for liquids. That definitely sounds like a thing.

Not only do I now drink out of my water bottle, but I also have to get up more to fill it! While this extra walking may not account to much, it does give me a few extra steps, and drinking more water means more bathroom breaks!

Bathroom breaks mean that you could have the opportunity to turn your office into your own private gym. If no one else (or one of my work friends who already knows that I’m a little off) is in the bathroom, I’ll do some dance moves in the stall before I do my business. Then, I’ll come out of the stall and finish my dance recital while I wash my hands. Don’t enjoy dancing? Do squats! Or lunges! Or jumping jacks! Anything that gets you moving for a minute or two!

This bit of exercising has the added fun of listening for the door to open so that if someone comes in, you can act like a seemingly normal human just using the restroom and not swaying your hips like you’re in a Shakira video.

And even if someone catches you, they will probably be weirded out and stop talking to you. More exercise and less human interaction — it’s a win-win!

Speaking of using the restroom, getting up to go is a good opportunity to get some extra steps in. Go use a bathroom on a different floor, or in the work lobby!

If you’re at home and you have bathrooms on multiple levels, go upstairs or downstairs to use the bathroom to move a bit more. After all, even if you’re spending all day on the couch or in bed letting your partner do everything else for you, you will unfortunately still have to get up to pee. Sigh.

Another thing I’ve done to make my home a bit more random-workout friendly is to leave a set of weights in an easy-to-reach spot. I will do a few reps while I’m waiting for dinner to cook, or standing by the door waiting for my partner to get ready to leave the house. Not that my partner takes forever to get ready or anything…

Beyond these minor changes to my routine, I also try to see if I can make any of my hobbies more active. Sometimes I pace back and forth across the living room while reading a book. Sometimes I’ll do ab workouts while watching TV. Sometimes I stand while I work on my laptop. Sometimes I’ll do exercises in my bathroom while waiting for the shower water to get warm. I always pace while I talk on the phone, so maybe I’ll start scheduling phone calls with friends during my downtime.

Getting off the couch is the first step. You don’t have to take the time out to go to a gym or buy fancy equipment, if you’re looking for little ways to incorporate activity into your daily life, you’re bound to find exercises that suit your interests and schedule. Do you have any small changes you’ve made to make your routine more active?