Let’s face it, we all have busy lives. No matter what day of the week it is, we can never seem to make time for ourselves, or for our health. It can seem like a lot of effort to change our patterns and do something different. It takes too long to make a change to live healthier, and we really just don’t have the time to do so, right?
Wrong. Statistically, for every one hour of exercise, you are increasing your life expectancy by two hours. That’s a 100% ROI (Return on investment). Anyone who knows anything about math can tell you that’s a good deal. So in the long run, you are actually MAKING MORE TIME for yourself by improving your health. The compounding effects of good health will significantly improve your life expectancy and make those extra years some of the healthiest, happiest years you’ve ever lived. You will be adding years to your life, and life to your years.
But before the compounding effects take place in your life, you have to actually START, and we are all very busy as it is, so the question becomes: How do you start? Furthermore, how do you make time for a healthier lifestyle so you can enjoy all of the benefits to good health?
1. Prioritize your time
Take a typical day or week into account. Write down every activity you do during a typical day/week and make a pie graph. Be honest with yourself and see where you really allocate your time. When you actually sit down and map it, you will find that there are ways to create time for yourself to improve your health. Maybe you watch television after a long day of work, or go out for a bite to eat, or wake up extra early to get ready for the day. Just be honest with yourself and write it all down and see where changes can be made. You don’t need much time to enjoy the compounding & everlasting health benefits of proper nutrition and exercise.
2. Plan ahead
Making a routine for the week is a great way to start. I personally prefer google calendar. Making a calendar to plan your day will help you balance your time more efficiently. There are a lot of options, such as a notebook, journal, calendar, bulletin board, or just a sticky note to prioritize your day. Make a plan and stick to it. There’s 1440 minutes in a day. You only need 20 minutes of exercise added into your daily routine to enjoy all of the benefits to good health (That’s only 1.39% of your entire day!).
Another aspect of planning ahead and making time is to plan your meals ahead. Next time you go shopping, pick up all of the food you need for the week. Pick up some Tupperware containers and head home to start cooking. Planning your meals for the week is a great way to save time and live healthier. Rather than cooking every meal on the day you’re going to eat it, plan ahead and do all of the cooking in one sitting for the week. Wrap your food up in some plastic wrap and put it in a Tupperware container to store away for the week. This will save you loads of time on cooking, as everything will be already made and ready to grab. You won’t have to wait for the oven to heat up each day you want to get a meal prepared, as you can just prepare everything in one day while the oven is hot and while you have everything ready to go. Preparing meals works wonders when you’re in a rush or on the go and need to grab a pre-made meal. It eliminates the need to get fast food for a meal because you already have your healthy meals planned.
These are just a few ways to create more time to live a healthier life.
