Adding “Exercise” to your To Do List
You’re having a strange dream. You can’t identify the sound but it just won’t stop. Finally, the noise wakes you up and you realize your alarm clock is going off. Time to start another day.
You start the shower, wash up, get dressed and head out to the kitchen. Time to make coffee, breakfast, pack lunches and get the kids up and ready for school. You think about everything that you have to do today, which includes finishing that big project at work, interviewing candidates for a new position, stopping by the grocery store to pick up dinner, picking up the kids from school, taking the kids to sports practice, cleaning the house and checking homework.
No where on your list does it say anything about taking time for yourself to exercise. And how could it possibly say that? Where could you pencil that in between everything else that has to get done?
The truth is, if you don’t make yourself take the time to workout, you won’t. And you can’t really count all of your running around and house cleaning as exercise. You need to maintain a consistent increased heart rate for longer than it takes you to vacuum your house.
Finding the time to workout can be overwhelming. But it doesn’t have to be. According to an article published on Goodhealth.com, (http://www.goodhealth.com/articles/2008/09/05/how_often_should_you_exercise) “adults 18 and older need 30 minutes of physical activity on five or more days a week to be healthy.” That is probably less time than you spend watching TV on a daily basis. You can find the time to get healthy and improve the way you feel. It is simply a matter of penciling yourself in to your schedule.
For the next two weeks, take a moment before you start your day and write out your to do list. Include everything that you have to do, and everything that you want to do. Set your priorities and make sure that you do what must be done. Make working out one of your top priorities. By seeing everything written out and knowing what you need to do, you will find that you have more time than you thought. Instead of the 25 minutes you spend surfing the net for new clothes, allot that time for a run. Rather than spending two hours watching the Seinfeld marathon, take half an hour and do yoga. You don’t have to travel to a gym to workout. There are literally hundreds of ways to workout at home for free. Simply doing an Internet search for “workouts at home” will provide you with pages of great, free workouts.
It’s time for you to make yourself a priority. And don’t feel guilty about it either. If you are afraid you’re taking time away from your kids or spouse, consider this: a healthier you makes for a happier you. Your family will appreciate the change and will respect the fact that you make time to workout. In turn, they will be prone to follow in your footsteps and make exercising a priority in their lives as well.
First of all, I really like the idea of creating a to do list every day. I think that by doing this, it will be much easier for me to stick to a routine and complete everything that needs to be completed. I have a problem with making time to exercise and it is really starting to take a toll on me. By actually writing it down,I will remember how important it is to exercise a little bit each day even if I can’t make it to my program at the gym. If that is the case, I should be able to make time in my schedule to do a simple workout at home. Thanks for the advice.
Thanks for sharing and I’m glad you like it!
I agree. My workout is always on the to-do list, otherwise it becomes something I can skip. Gotta write it down and gotta get it done! 🙂
Definitely agree….writing it down kind of sets it in stone as something you have to do, instead of making it just something you can put off til later.
I have tried to put exercise as part of my daily routine, but I fail to be consistent about it. It is a sad cycle for me when it comes to regular exercise.
The most that I’d accomplished was 4 successive Sunday jogging. A little weight lifting on weekends and that’s about it.
When I missed jogging on the 5th week, I completely became discouraged.
But I’m planning to restart again this weekend.
Sigh…. I hear you. I’ve started going folk dancing once a week, but some weeks I can’t make it. I know I need more exercise than that, but I tell myself I’m doing better than I was a year ago, which is true but doesn’t make me feel any better. I get discouraged because the “little bit of something that’s better than a lot of nothing” isn’t really working….
You will be surprised how much exercise that you can get by taking your children and your dog to the park! Exercise does not necessarily mean hours in the gym. At least getting out and just walking is a great start.