Over the years, I’ve met and worked with a lot of people who want to achieve a greater sense of health and well-being or have another goal they are working toward outside the realm of wellness.
And do you know what the biggest challenge I hear is?
Lack of time.
Our world is fast-paced. A lot is thrown at us. Between family, work, various activities, chores at home, and the never-ending “to do” items that pop up, it can seem impossible to have any time to focus on your health.
I’m far from perfect at time management. However, there are 10 things that I find extremely helpful when it comes to making time for my health.
In fact, doing these things helps me to free up about 10 hours per week! That’s a lot of time that can be devoted to things like:
· Physical activity
· Healthy food prep
· Extra sleep
· Meditation or journalling or reading
· Pursuing a new hobby
· Volunteer work
· You name it!
I hope that these practices help you as much as they’ve helped me. Here they are!
#1 Seriously Limit Your Screen Time
I know, I know, you’ve probably heard this a million times. But this one is huge. TV’s, phones, and devices can be a nice way to unwind, catch up with friends, and learn new things. But they can also be HUGE time wasters. If we aren’t conscious with their use, they can quickly rob hours of our day.
Personally, aside from 15 minutes of morning news and an occasional movie with my husband, I rarely watch TV. And I try to limit non-productive screen time to less than an hour per day.
PRO TIP: The key word here is “non-productive” screen time. Think of ways you could turn your non-productive screen time into productive screen time.
For example, if binge-watching Netflix or scrolling social media is your thing, do it while walking on the treadmill or riding a stationary bike. I used to do just that in the mornings. While cycling for around 45 minutes, I could catch up on social media, listen to a podcast, sometimes read a book.
Another tip I would give people is to have a set of dumbbells near their TV. When you turn on your favourite show, flex your biceps and triceps, do some weighted squats. There are so many simple exercises you could do while watching TV.
Let your guilty pleasure be motivation to do something productive (such as being active)!
#2. Put Exercise Before Housework
In case you’re looking for permission, I’m giving it to you! I don’t know about you, but if I waited to exercise until all house chores were done, it would never happen. Housework never ends. There’s always something to do at home.
Regardless of how high my laundry pile is, physical activity comes first. It is a priority in my life. I make it a priority now and nothing gets in the way of it.
The good news is that this doesn’t mean your home has to be a disaster. Exercise gives you energy, which will help you to efficiently tackle the day-to-day chores around the house.
#3 Read With Your Ears
During mundane tasks that don’t require a great deal of mental effort, such as folding laundry, doing dishes, picking up the house, or running/walking, this can be a great time to expand your mind with audiobooks and podcasts.
I’ve picked up this trick along the way. I find it much more enjoyable to listen to podcasts or course lectures while outside getting exercise, rather than spending all my time in front of my computer. Audio format is how I prefer to do most of my “reading”, mainly because it allows me to do other things at the same time.
#4. Time Yourself
This works great for tasks I don’t enjoy doing, like ironing for instance. Do any of you truly enjoy this household task? I definitely don’t.
When it’s time to do these tasks, I find myself needing to get something to eat or drink… needing to talk to someone… checking e-mail… pondering life… anything to avoid the unpleasant thing that needs to be done.
But procrastinating only prolongs the pain. By timing myself, it forces me to focus on the task at hand, not get side-tracked, and knock it out quickly.
#5. Batch-cook Like a Boss
We are a family of two, but I often prepare meals for my parents too. It’s not unusual for me to quadruple a recipe. If I’m going to go through the trouble of cooking, why not get several meals out of it?
At a minimum, I make enough for another several dinners or lunches later in the week.
In addition, I have learned that my freezer is my friend. It’s both efficient and economical to freeze home-cooked meals and enjoy them later with minimal preparation and mess.
In fact, I just finished up cooking 8 chicken breasts in the slow cooker, a pot of quinoa, two baking trays full of veggies such as asparagus, broccoli, cauliflower and sweet potatoes, plus I make a pot of pasta. So, I will end up yielding about 6 – 8 meals of either chicken, quinoa plus veggies OR pesto pasta with chicken and broccoli. Pictures on the FB page.
#6. Become a Morning Person
I know the night owls will disagree with me here, but several studies have linked rising earlier to higher productivity. And if you read any articles about highly successful people, you’ll likely find out that they get up at a ridiculously early time.
But here’s my message on this point. Becoming a morning person and setting up an early morning routine for exercise only works if you go to bed early. YOU really need your sleep and so, I wouldn’t sacrifice my 8 hours of sleep. Too many studies show that sleep is one of the main components of a healthy life.
If you can manage to set your alarm clock and get up even 15 minutes earlier to get in some form of exercise, kudos to you, my friend.
I used to be able to do this but I am currently in a phase where I need to focus more on getting in those quality hours, so I let myself sleep a bit longer. This may change again soon, but for now this is what my body needs.
#7. Recruit Help
Delegate, my friend. In my household my husband and I have both worked long hours in our professions, and we both help with the housework. This is a routine we have established and I can count on him to chip in when I ask him to help out with any cleaning chores in and around the house.
If you have children, well they are also perfectly capable of cleaning their rooms, picking up their messes, helping with clean-up after meals, and folding their clothes. Just explain to them that you are focusing more on your health and wellness, and it would be super helpful if they could shoulder a bit of the housework to allow you to get in some exercise.
If you can afford it, hire help for chores and projects around the house! It took me years to finally do this (mainly because it’s hard for me to pay for services that I can do myself). But it can be a huge help, freeing up your valuable time for things that are more enjoyable and important to you.
#8. Get Creative
What are some creative ways to add healthy activities into your day? How about a walk during your lunch break? You don’t necessarily need to get drenched in sweat to experience the benefits of exercise. A daily walk is great!
What are some quick strength exercises you could do at home in the morning before taking a shower? It doesn’t have to be an hour-long workout. Every little bit helps.
I recently read about a woman who does squats while she is brushing her teeth in the morning and at night. How creative is that?
How might you incorporate exercise or food prep into family time? Examples include outdoor family activities or cooking together as a family.
#9. Simplify
The less stuff I buy, the less stuff I have to keep up with (which frees up my money and time!). I started a simplicity journey a while back and this was likely due to the fact that we made two major moves within two years. It was devastating to realize all the STUFF we had accumulated. It was then that I vowed to sell, donate or throw away all the things that were no longer serving us. What a liberating feeling!
And, here’s an idea that caught my attention in regard to simplifying your wardrobe. I read the suggestion of choosing only 33 items to wear for each season. So, you would only keep 33 of your favourite fitting items, which would change Jan 1, April 1, July 1, Oct 1. I assume this doesn’t include socks, underwear and bras etc. But I thought this concept was genius.
Get rid of the rest through donating, selling if you can, and just keep your fitting faves for each season. I am actually going to try this and I’ll let you know how I make out.
As much as I enjoy shopping, I have cut back on shopping trips a lot because usually at the end of such an outing, I have a car load of stuff I never knew I “needed.”
So I try my best to avoid places with lots of shiny things that take my focus away from what is important.
A healthy, low-maintenance life is what I strive for. This is what I mean by ‘simplifying’ your life.
#10. Just Say No
Say yes to the things that are truly important to you, but politely decline the rest. This one is easier said than done, but so important. When you say yes to one thing, you’re saying no to something else (such as family time, exercise, sleep, etc.). If it’s not a hell yes, it’s a no.
FINAL THOUGHTS
When it comes to making time for your health, please keep these things in mind:
· Healthy living isn’t just about your body. When your physical health improves, so many other areas also improve. For example, decreased stress, better mood, increased energy, healthier relationships, greater discipline, enhanced focus, and higher productivity.
· It’s important to focus on progress over perfection.
· Small changes lead to big results over time.
Please remember, knowing the information isn’t enough. We don’t benefit unless we practice it.
Which of the above actions will you practice today, and what will you do with the extra time on your hands?
Til next time,
Lisa xoxo
