A perspective on making time for exercise, or other things.

Time is a challenge for people. Too many things are priorities. If you are someone that wants to exercise and is struggling to find time for it, perhaps you can identify where your time is going. One thing I have observed is that people always finish their work, regardless of overtime. Another is usually the same people that are struggling with time to workout, will usually clean before they exercise. By the time they are done cleaning, it is time for bed, or you are too tired, missing an important window of when your energy is higher.

Here are some reasons why you should exercise first.

1. You can make up for lost cleaning at the end of the week. You can not make up for exercise. You could make up 2 to 4 hours of activity, but it is not the same, may be painful, could lead to injury, and is probably not a good option long term. You absolutely can make up an entire week’s worth of cleaning on the weekend much better than exercise. 😱 Your house doesn’t suffer by being messy or the dishes not being done. You miss out on a load of benefits from exercise.
2. You will finish your work anyway. Your paycheck ensures that. If you have some flexibility to workout when your energy and mindset is in a prime position of getting things done, this will ensure you have some physical activity built in your day. Even if it is ‘just a walk’, this can add more steps to your day, get you out in nature, get some fresh air. I bet this will also help reduce stress levels as you may know, exercise does, which means clearer thinking. How good would it feel getting off work knowing that you did both?
3. Many people are not taking a break at all, perhaps that is an option to consider. Peer pressure can take on a culture. You could be the one who takes a break or starts a walking group in your neighborhood.
4. You can start slowly and work your way up to what feels comfortable in your workday. It doesn’t need to be your hardest workout.
5. That much exercise on the weekend with little activity during the week may leave you sore, which might give you a bit of a pain association with working out. (Exercise-Pain, not good for motivation.) If you don’t relate to this, you would be surprised at how many times I have heard women, specifically, do this.
6. Exercise leads to more energy. It is so important that we are warned against exercising right before bedtime if we have trouble sleeping. This means if you prioritize exercise before cleaning, you might actually clean anyway.
7. Many of us are in the ‘stay on track’ mindset. This is the mindset that even if it is ‘just a 20 minute walk’, that action is going to make you not want to ‘waste’ the exercise by eating unhealthy. This action step is going to snowball. Perhaps you only have a 20 minute walk after work to meet a goal? Or it encourages you to choose a nutritious option as a snack because ‘you already walked.’ (You are probably in this group if you like to ‘start on Monday, so you can have a ‘perfect’ week.) While I would not encourage perfectionism, this is a way to draw some motivation out of it.
8. Do hard things when your energy is higher. When something is a challenge, it can be helpful to tackle the hardest thing when your energy is higher. I could be wrong about you, but many of us seem to exponentially lose energy after 5 pm.
9. It adds up. A 20 minute walk five days a week, is 100 minutes each week. While we could probably walk 100 minutes on Saturday, we miss out on the benefits during the week. Many of you clean for two hours on Saturday anyway. 😄