The other day, I set my alarm for my usual early morning gym call. Only, instead of going to train, I cleaned my flat, bashed through a load of life admin that I’d been putting off, showered – taking time to use the nice shampoos I don’t often have time to properly lather into my hair – and started work early.

“If I did this every morning,” I thought to myself, “I could be one of the most organised people I know.”

That’s when the guilt started. The guilt that I’d been wasting all of these mornings exercising when I could have been sorting my life out. That I spent the most productive hours of my day – because I am a lark who functions better first thing – doing something that is a luxury to most people.

Exercise guilt: why do we feel guilty for productive self-care?