Why can't shorter workouts do the trick?

Today I tried out a new workout I found on the Sports and Fitness On Demand channel of Time Warner Cable. It is called Power Fusion, and it is supposed to be a combination of Pilates, yoga, and ballet. This 46-minute workout seemed gentle enough for me to handle with my various problems, but I still only made it through 11 minutes of it before I called it quits. Boredom and shoulder fatigue (there were a lot of arm movements in this routine) were only two of the reasons why I stopped. The third reason is that I have a lot of tasks that need my attention today and I felt guilty the whole time I was exercising. I want to be able to say that I finished a workout and derive the benefits from it, but I don't want it to take time away from everything else I have on my to-do list.

I can hear the skinny chicks and the fitness freaks now -- exercise in several 10-minute chunks a day. I've tried that approach, but I usually only work in one 10-minute chunk and check exercise off my list for the day. I believe the 10-minute chunk theory is what fitness experts offer lazy folks like me to try to lure us off the couch, hoping that once they've snagged us we will turn into 60-minute-a-day workout junkies. So far that hasn't worked for me. I'll hold on to the fact that I exercised for 11 minutes today as a badge of honor for the rest of the week and probably not work out again.

On the other end of the spectrum, ABM started exercising again after a long hiatus while he was grieving. He is beating himself up because he has only been able to spend 30 minutes on the treadmill for several of his sessions last week. To make up for it today (or punish himself -- I'm not sure which), he ran for his entire 30 minutes instead of alternating between walking and running as he usually does. ABM doesn't feel like he has truly worked out unless he has spent two hours exercising full-tilt. I wish that there was a 10-minute-a-day fitness miracle, more for ABM than for me. At least I don't beat myself up about not exercising, whereas he does.