For a while now, I’ve been toying with the idea of creating a small home gym section in my finished basement. Why? Well, if you’ve been reading my monthly productivity reports, you know that my attitude toward exercise changes with the weather. When it’s cold and rainy, I have a hard time getting outside. I don’t want that to become an excuse, so I thought it would be a good idea to have a space where I can move regularly. I finally completed this project in December 2023. Here’s what happened…

The Goal? Supporting My Goals.

As I mentioned in the intro above, I’ve been wanting to create a home gym area for a while now. Why? Well, it’s because I’ve learned that it’s key to curate your environment to support your goals. The more friction you allow in your environment, the harder it is to follow through. Better health is a priority of mine, and since I want to make things easy for myself, a home gym seemed like a good idea. We had an open space in our finished basement that wasn’t being used for anything in particular, it was an ideal place to work with. It had enough open space and was tucked away from the rest of the house.

Will A Home Gym Be Worth The Effort?

The first phase of any project is always the planning phase, and a big piece of that is to explore the deeper reasons for wanting to take it on. You have to know your why in order to stay motivated throughout. It takes commitment to complete any project and if you are unclear on any of that stuff, you give yourself an automatic out. I don’t do that. If I take on a project, I go fully into it with 100% effort. I’m able to do that because I am crystal clear on my reason for wanting to do it. I know it’ll be worth it.

So….the first thing I had to evaluate was whether a home gym would be a wise investment or not. What would my ROI be on this? Would a home gym be worth my time, energy, and financial investment? I decided that it would be – hands down. Read on to find out how I came to that conclusion. Hint: I evaluated all possible pros and cons.

Goal Friction Works Against You

We already had some gym equipment at home, but to my frustration, it hadn’t been consolidated well in the house. That had been annoying me for a while because I’m all about consolidating and simplifying in all areas of my life. Simply put: after we moved into our new home, our system needed to reset and we never got around to tackling it.

The fact that I had to do yoga in my home office and then go use my rower downstairs was inconvenient. That makes it so much harder to get into a flow, which then makes me even less inspired to work out. Those little annoyances compound, and the result is a less effective workout. Who wants that? Not me. Working out is already hard enough, so no need to pile on the difficulties. Let’s make it EASIER! Simplifying is so powerful. Often times, it’s a tiny tweak that makes all the difference.

Evaluating the Time Investment

When starting any new project, it’s helpful if you can accurately estimate how long it might take. This is tricky because getting it right only comes with a significant amount of project management experience. It takes time to learn. My formula is to make my best guess by evaluating past data (if available), double that estimate, and then add another 30% time buffer. That works for me, and gets me pretty close to where I need to be. I have worked that formula out over years of past project analyses.

It’s really important to check yourself here because we – as humans – are generally pretty bad at estimating time. We tend to severely underestimate how long things take, and assume that everything will go according to plan. This is where things often derail. I caught myself making assumptions in this stage despite being a project management pro. I was thinking “A home gym seems like such a small project. Just clean up and move some stuff. Buy a few new things – how long could that possibly take?” I actually said the words “I don’t this’ll take very long …maybe an afternoon?” out loud. 🤣 Classic ignorance. After the words came out out of my mouth, I caught myself though. “Time out, Caroline! You don’t really mean that. Let’s do the math.” It’s a good thing I did too…because I was WAY off.

Let’s Break It Down!

When I did the math and applied my formula, this is how it actually broke down:

• Space planning: 1 hour
• Deciding what to purchase: 2 hours
• Clean and mop space: 3 hours
• Install mirrors and move equipment: 8 hours
• Organize and label smaller items: 2 hours
• Miscellaneous project management (f.ex. calling movers, shopping): 4 hours

Total Base Estimate: 20 Hours

With Added 30-35% buffer time: 27 Hours

Reality check. 27 hours does NOT fit into one day, let alone an afternoon. 🤣 Do you see how off this project would have been from the start, had I not skipped the planning stage? It would have derailed right away in terms of time management and scheduling.

With this new information in hand, I decided to spread my home gym project over three weekends (6 days) and commit to 5 hours per day in total. I would do 2.5 hour sessions with a break in between to get it all done. Scheduling it that way would also help ensure that anything new would be delivered on time, and anyone who needed to help me would be available. Approaching it in stages made sense, so that’s what I planned out.

Questioning the Energy Investment

Besides time, you also have to think about what else goes into your project. Does it make sense for you to do it yourself? Should you hire help? At what cost? What exactly will it cost in terms of energy? That also factors into the decision-making. So I asked myself: “Would it make sense for me to invest 3 weekends into a new home gym area? Would 27 hours of work be worth it?” I decided that it would.

Recognizing that I’d need help to pull this off also made a difference in the scheduling. Delegating can be hard, but its often quite necessary. My husband would eventually get the assignment of trying to help me install the mirrors (you need two people to get those up safely). I also decided to hire some extra hands from Dolly to move some of our heavier items (new treadmill, rower, etc.) downstairs. Knowing your limit also comes with experience, but when you have really heavy equipment to move, bringing on extra help is always a given.

Evaluating the Financial Investment

Another piece to any project is the budget. Did I have the cashflow to spend money on a new home gym setup? Once again, I caught myself saying “Eh...I don’t need much new stuff, so it can’t cost THAT much. $500 maybe?” 🤣 Oh, the tangled webs we weave. Since I have extensive project management experience, I KNOW that when I make those types of early statements, they are not grounded in any facts. It’s just that wishful thinking creeping up again. It’s OK to be optimistic (and I LOVE that I always am), but I also know myself well enough to run the numbers.

I created a list of my projected expenses to see just how much this would all add up to, and here’s how it turned out:

• Hire Dolly helpers ($250)
• Paint and supplies ($100)
• Gym mirrors ($500)
• Storage tower ($0, already own)
• Rower ($0, already own)
• Basket ($0, already own)
• Floor mats ($500)
• Small treadmill ($250)
• Meditation cushion ($85)
• Yoga mat hook ($0, already own)
• Storage for yoga mats and bands ($0, already own)
• Misc small storage ($30)

Total Estimated Cost: $1700-ish

This was just a rough estimate from a few minutes of brainstorming, but – once again – we can see just wrong I was in my earlier statement. This was not going to cost me $500, but rather 3x that number. Plus some change. Oops. Would it still be worth it? Hmm. Overall, yes, but I really didn’t feel like spending $1700 on a home gym in one shot, especially not since we had a lot of extra expenses over the holidays. What to do?

Shrinking the Budget…

Instead of scrapping the project, I decided to see if I could make some adjustments to the budget and projected costs. I realized that I had looked at some floor mats on Amazon that were rather expensive. Perhaps I could switch those out for something else? I did a bit more research, and wouldn’t you know it? By switching out the home gym floor mats ($500) in favor of a seamless foam underlayment ($110), I brought the cost down by almost $400. We were now at $1300.

What else could do to bring the cost down under (or close to) 1K? Well, I decided to skip the painting. It’s a basement, so it doesn’t need to be perfect. I realized I wouldn’t have the time to paint anyway. That decision saved me at least $100. Besides, if I change my mind in the future, I can always do it then. SO far, so good, but not quite within budget yet.

Shrinking the Budget… Again

To get closer to 1K, I looked at a simpler walking pad instead of a fuller treadmill. We don’t run much in our household, so we don’t need anything super fancy. Could I get something under $200 that would fit all of us? In order to see, I had to decide on what features were non-negotiable.

Here’s what I wrote down as criteria for it:

• Foldable, so I can move it and save space (what if I need more open space to dance?)
• Weight limit can be 200 lbs, which is usually OK on a smaller unit
• Handle bar for safety and to store phones
• Flat to floor, so it fits us within the ceiling height (5’8 + 2 feet)
• Small incline only, because the ceiling height doesn’t allow for any more
• Good ratings and reviews
• Helpful if it has a water bottle holder

You can see that because I was clear on what I wanted and needed, it became rather easy to make a good decision. I was able to find a great walking pad for $199, which saved me $50 compared to my projection. To my surprise, the Dolly estimate also came in a lot cheaper than previously expected (even with added tips), so that bit of good news helped. Then, I also decided to re-purpose some older storage containers and dividers to save that last $30, and voila, we were under a thousand. MUCH Better!

Scheduling the Home Gym Project

Once the more important project filters had been cleared, there was just more thing to check: How would I complete this project within my available time, and get it done in time for new years?  Could it be done? Fortunately, yes! It just so happened that I had exactly three weekends available, so I circled those six dates on the calendar, and scheduled all the tasks in a logical sequence.

I decided to schedule my own clean up sessions during mornings as much as possible. That’s generally when I have the most energy. That being said, I would need some help from others, and that would be easier to handle during afternoons. It’s so key to match the energy that’s required for a project with the energy that’s available, so I scheduled the hubby and the Dolly helpers for two afternoons instead.

Home Gym Space Planning

In space planning, you have to be clear on the purpose of the area. That dictates everything, so the first thing I did after committing to the project was to head down to the basement with my daughter’s iPad. She has a sketch program on it, which I borrowed to draw out some ideas on digital paper. I wanted to feel out the energy of the environment and consider all the possibilities. I also wanted to brainstorm what activities I’d like to do where. What would this new home gym be used for?

A big part of my wellness routine includes yoga, meditation, stretching, and dancing, so I wanted to have a decently-sized open space where I could do those activities. I also wanted to have room for a small treadmill and my rower too, but I didn’t want that to take up the entire area. Would a treadmill actually fit? Where would my rower actually go? I measured everything and sketched out some potential zoning ideas.

I decided that the left side of my space would be open and the right side would hold the heavier equipment. The ceiling on the right side of the room is a taller than on the left due to a vent system, so I figured I’d need that layout in order to get a treadmill in.

Drawing out the space visually is so helpful in order to communicate with others. I’m used to drawing out workflows with students in my courses, so I know the value of having them on hand. The rough sketch I did actually ended up being the final plan, and because we had it, I could explain to my husband and to the movers exactly where everything would go. So helpful.

Matching the Right People with the Right Tasks

A big part of project management is to recognize different skillsets and put people on the tasks where they can shine. My husband is much better at math than I am, and he is also very detail-oriented, so he got the task of measuring the walls and deciding where to anchor the mirrors. I could have done it myself, but it would have taken me much longer. Why go that route when there’s someone who can do it faster and better? This way, he could contribute to the project and feel reassured that the task was completed correctly. The mirrors were actually surprisingly easy to install, though it definitely took two people to make sure they were leveled.

The actual work of putting everything in place went surprisingly smooth, but it was no doubt because I had put in the effort in the early planning. I knew exactly what to complete during each work session and what to put where. It also became really easy that way to measure the progress of the project overall.

What “Should” This Look Like?

Ah, expectations! When people hear that I am a professional organizer, they tend to assume that everything in my house looks perfect at all times. That’s far from the truth, and it’s one reason why I wanted to show off this project. Sometimes function takes priority over style, and that was certainly the case here. Would I have LOVED a home gym setup that looked completely professional? Sure. Would I have wanted a gorgeous magazine-worthy space with color-coordinated storage boxes? Absolutely! I could have opted to create that space by spending more time, money, and effort on it, but I chose not to. Sometimes, compromises have to happen.

In order to meet my project deadline on time and stay within budget, we decided to accept something less than perfect. I used the resources I had available to me in the best way possible within the parameters I was willing to accept. For this space, at this time in my life, this is what I needed. I needed function, not style. We all know that “done is better than perfect” anyway, and if – by some miracle – I end up spending more time than anticipated down there, I can continue to make improvements over time.

Overall, this home gym project gave me exactly what I wanted, and now I have a space to explore for my morning routine. As I continue to use it, I’ll understand what improvements need to be made, and I can upgrade it when the time comes. For now? All boxes are checked. Project completed.

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Caroline Guntur Organizing & Productivity Coach

Hi there! I’m Caroline, and I’m here to help you get organized and be more productive, so that you can live better and have time for what matters.

www.theswedishorganizer.com

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