The most common excuse people give when asked why they don’t workout is: “I don’t have time”. Truth is, I don’t have children yet so I thought maybe that could be the case for many people. But then I started meeting so many single, working mothers of 1,2,3 and 4 kids who got their daily workouts in and then carried on all their mommy duties and their full time job responsibilities perfectly. And all of them said it was a matter of organization and keeping a routine/schedule.
Habit or routine has negative connotations when it comes to relationships, but when it comes to getting stuff done, it’s your best friend.
Humans are natural procrastinators; we get distracted easily if we don’t prioritize. So by creating a routine you eliminate all that time-consuming decision-making, saving you precious productive time. And most importantly, when something becomes a habit you do it automatically and actually feel weird if you don’t do it one day.
So everyone considering starting or in the process of starting a workout schedule is anxiously waiting for a habit to form, so that exercising becomes less painful and actually enjoyable.
Studies show that it can take from 3 weeks up to 8 months to adopt a new habit depending on the person. DON’T FEEL DISCOURAGED, to the contrary, use this information as motivation to push further, if in 8 months you still don’t find a little satisfaction in working out, then it’s safe to say that it’s just not your thing. But… Odds are you will be hooked if you stick to your schedule and goals. And, there’s good news. Studies also show that if you skip a day, the habit-forming process will not be affected. DON’T abuse this fact though.
For those of you reading that haven’t started to workout, I’m going to give you some tips on how to organize your schedule in order to FIND the time to start taking care of your body.
- List ALL of your responsibilities. From waking up, showering, feeding your pets, work, kids, meals, etc.
- List all the things you wish you had time to do, like WORKOUT.
- ASSING TIMES to every task that has a fixed hour. For example, breakfast, lunch, school, work, etc.
- THINK about YOU. When are you more productive? When are you more creative? Analytical?
- ASSIGN TIMES to all the things you wish you had time to do according to your self-evaluation. For example, I fit my workout in the morning because I need that boost to wake up my mind, and I don’t need to be creative or analytical at that time of day.
- FIT in FREE TIME, never underestimate YOU time. At this time you can improvise, and do whatever you please. Everyone needs it.
- TEST DRIVE IT. Commit to trying it for two weeks, if you like it then stick to it, otherwise, rearrange times.
