Can’t Find Time to Exercise?

By Pamela Brown

Is your life so out-of-control that exercise isn’t even an option?  Life these days make it nearly impossible to find an hour to exercise; 24 hours just isn’t enough time to fit everything into it.  But, however, exercise adds so much value to a person’s life; it’s essential to having a good life.  You know this, but how can you make time for it?

Effective time management to make life easier

In order to make exercise a part of your overly busy lifestyle, learn to do the following:

  • develop an inner desire to move
  • change your views about why and how you exercise or move

Or, you can take another approach and find time wasters: find out where you are wasting energy and devote it to more movement and/or exercise.

Creating an activity chart

In the previous post, you learned how exercise can help you live out your dreams or do what’s important to you in life.  Aligning health and fitness with your values helps you to change your mindset about exercise, and create an overwhelming desire for a more active lifestyle.

You are going to add to that by creating a schedule of your daily tasks so you can find time to move.  Here’s how to do it.

1. Get a piece of paper and a pencil and go to a quiet place to think.

2. Create 4 columns on your chart and label them with the following:

  • daily activities
  • movement and exercise strategies: how exercise and movement can be incorporated into  your daily tasks
  • getting organized: what you need to do to prepare for exercise
  • shopping list

Click here for a blank time management worksheet.

Here is an example of how to use a worksheet.

3. Write down ALL of your activities during your day, even when you rest, watch T.V., etc…, what time you do it and for how long.  Then use your creativity and find slots where movement or exercise can be done.

4. Any dead time, cutting activities in half, playing with your children, etc… are all strategies that can help you find more time to move or exercise.

The only way to overcome a life that works against physical activity is to plan, organize, and create an overwhelming desire to exercise.

Summary

You now know how to make health and fitness a priority, and how to plan and organize for it.  These are the attributes needed to make time and create energy to exercise.

If I can help you in any way, feel free to email me and I will do my best to answer any questions you may have

Until next time,

Pamela