Do you ever look at influencers with lean bodys’ and wonder to yourself, “how do they have the time?” The same way you and I have the time to sit at the dinner table and play mobile games (that’s a personal example). Everyone has 24 hours in a day. The way we spend that time is what dictates how our lives look.
If you are a parent with a job, time can be very limited. If you work in New York City finance, time can be limited. If you work on the land, tending to your garden and farm, time can be limited. Time is the most precious resource we don’t get back. With that in mind, many think to themselves “if time is so important, let me indulge and enjoy life”. Your health is not disposable. Everyone’s body deteriorates at some point. We can slow the process and improve the quality of life by prioritizing the right foods, getting enough sleep, and getting physical activity.
How does anyone with a busy schedule prioritize these? Let’s take a look at some strategies that may help you.
Calendar: Have a daily and monthly calendar. The purpose of the monthly calendar is to know important events weeks in advance, and plot important deadlines. You can schedule your training days, days for chores, days for fun, conferences, birthdays, interviews, yoga. The purpose of the daily calendar is to plan out your day. You can write out your work meetings, break pockets to eat, when to train, when to read, when to play games. This method is known as time blocking. By writing out your calendar, you are more likely to stick with it and hold yourself accountable.
Delegate: If you have a partner, kids of a certain age, or roommates, you can recruit them to help you out and vice versa. If you have a partner, you can delegate time to do chores. One person can clean, one person can prepare meals. One person can get the gym clothes ready, one person can get the gym bag ready. One person can take care of the baby while the other trains, then switch. If you have kids who are old enough to do chores, recruit them to help out. If they are old enough to do chores and play sports, they can train too. Take them to the gym with you. Make it a family event.
Prepare: Start on Sunday and prepare your bag/clothes the night before. Have what you need for work ready. Have your meals for the week prepared on Sunday so you don’t have any reason to eat out. Have your gym bag packed before you wake up so you have no excuse because you forgot your shorts. Prepare your room before sleep. Have your book on your pillow and your alarms set.
Prioritization: Not everything on your to do list is urgent and important. An effective strategy to categorize your tasks is the Eisenhower Matrix. You can fit your tasks and habits into 4 categories: Urgent-important, urgent-not important, not urgent-important, not urgent-not important. Once you have an outline of everything you do, you can do, delegate, schedule, or delete tasks. You can combine this with a method called “Bite the Frog”. This is completing the most important/difficult task of the day, first. Once the hardest part of the day is done, everything else feels easy.
No one can get back lost time, but everyone can use their time wisely. The choices we make have a direct consequence tomorrow. The poorer the choices, the more painful and uncomfortable life will be when we are older. If we start now to make healthier choices, aging won’t be as bad. Unnecessary doctor visits can be avoided. You only have one body, so treat it well.
