The day looks something like this. Wake up, get dressed, throw some makeup on, drink 1 st of many cups of coffee, and off to work and meetings. Lunch, eaten at your desk might look like whatever is in the vending machine, and we forge on with phone calls and more meetings. By the time we get home, we are wiped. We look forward to dinner, spending time with our loved ones and maybe that glass of wine. Yes, we love our jobs but we know we need to take physical care of ourselves as well and it is incredibly challenging finding a balance. So what is that balance? How can we carve out time in our busy and hectic schedules for exercise?
As both a personal trainer and a former corporate employee I wish I could go back and tell my former self the following when trying to create a work/exercise balance.
- Pick an exercise you love. This can be a walk, bike ride, yoga. Only do what makes you feel good, what invigorates you and gives you energy. If you dread the exercise or it depletes you, you will not make time for it.
- Pick a time in the day you know you will fit a workout in and schedule it in your calendar like any other meeting. If you are a morning person, set your alarm a bit earlier and workout then and if you are a night person squeeze it in before you go to bed.
- Combine social life and movement. Instead of going for drinks, go for a walk with a friend. Even better, go for a walk and then a drink.
- Lose the preconceived notion that you need an hour for a workout to count. You can do an effective workout in just 10-15 minutes, and sometime this is the only time you have. Today many online fitness apps have short workouts which require no equipment to choose from.
- Speaking of short periods of time, sneak exercise into your day. Do some squats while you're on a call; It all counts!
- Lose the self-blame - don't beat yourself up if you couldn't squeeze the workout in; you tried and there is always tomorrow.
- Exercise can be a form of self-care. It can even be meditative. Learn to be present in your workout. Stop thinking about the deal you are about to close. Start thinking about the way your muscles move and connect. You may find that you are even more ready to conquer your day after having spent some time focusing simply on your movement and breath. Remember that exercise is not only a form of burning calories but a tool to achieving more strength and mental clarity.
As a career woman, it is incredibly easy to lose focus on the importance of including fitness in your day to day life. What time is left after a long day usually goes to our social life. In a nutshell looking back at my younger self, I'd say go easier on yourself and your workouts. A workout does not need to be a six mile run. I think if I knew these things then I'd actually have benefited from exercise more.
This guest post was authored by Ilana Milstein
Ms. Career Girl was started in 2008 to help ambitious young professional women figure out who they are, what they want and how to get it.
