Do you get up in the morning and sit at the table for breakfast, then sit in your car to go to work, and sit at your desk in front of a monitor? Then do you go to lunch and sit, hastily eat your lunch, maybe while trying to do other things at the same time? When your work day is over, you go home, sit at the table, have dinner, and maybe even have an adult beverage to cut down on your stress. And finally, you sit on the sofa, and watch some TV before you go to bed. The next day, you just get up and do it all again. Now, add in internet time and the time in the car transporting the kids around; you get the general idea.

Most of us have so many things and people that we are responsible for that we don’t have time for ourselves. The reality is we need to make time for ourselves in order to take care of all of this other stuff. Typically exercise is just another time suck that’s not even that fun, at least in the beginning. What I think we forget is that your body is what makes everything else work. There should be time made in your day to take care of it, to keep it working the way it’s supposed to.

Recent research shows that sitting is the new smoking. A busy lifestyle can still be considered sedentary if most of your time is spent at a desk, in a car, or in front of some sort of screen. The effects of a sedentary lifestyle are arguably as bad as smoking. Since it happens over time, most people don't notice their muscles have been atrophying, fat cells have been growing, and if they have not been active in a sport, their balance and mobility have been declining. But, one day something happens, or they look in the mirror and it hits them... how did I let myself get this way?

Why shouldn't exercise be part of your day to day life?

I so often hear from people, “I don’t have time.” There are also so many out there whose lives are completely packed that have made time for exercise because it was just that important to them. So, I ask you the question, regardless of your schedule, would your life be better if you had more energy, had less joint pain, had better balance, and were more mobile? 

I understand that getting out of your normal routine is difficult and sometimes seems overwhelming. Just the thought of adding something new into our schedule can cause us great distress. Change is typically hard because we view it as something that we need to make happen without having any reasonable means to make it happen. Most of the time, we just need to have a solution that makes things work for us.

A creative solution may be needed to change your routine.

If you think that your schedule is full, with no room for another activity, such as a workout, maybe you could come in and workout early, before everyone at home gets up. Then, you simply go home and start you normal routine. Or perhaps you take time after dinner and after winding down from your work day to squeeze in a workout, when you would normally be at home watching evening television.

There’s also the power lunch break. Instead of going out to a restaurant for lunch, or having lunch at your desk while you attempt to get other things done, maybe you go and get your workout in then, and take a working lunch later.

No matter when you fit it in, if you make the time to work out, you’ll have more energy, you’ll be more focused for your workday, and you’ll sleep better at night.

Many companies are flexible with their employees’ time, knowing that an energized employee that doesn’t get sick often is much more productive. Some employers will even subsidize your efforts by giving breaks financially on health insurance premiums or by paying part of your gym membership.

At the end of the day, finding a new strategy for how you use your time, though it may be difficult to make the change in the beginning, will yield huge benefits to both you and your family.

If this sounds like your lifestyle, we can help you find the time and come up with a creative solution to make the change that you need. 

- Bill Burnett