Making time to take care of your health

I know it is difficult to come back after a few weeks off (or more) from training, but I hope you will not get discouraged!!  Give your body 2-4 weeks to adjust to class and you will notice things getting better – not so sore, can work harder each class, etc.  Results come from working hard and being consistent, so whatever you do, do not give up!!!

There was a good blog in the Harvard Business Review this week titled, “Stop Complaining About How Busy You Are” – http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2013/09/please_stop_complaining_about.html.  The author makes some very good points about being more effective with time management and of course the reminder that we are choosing to be busy, but the one tip I liked the most was  “cut the fat”.  How does this apply to health and fitness you ask???  Well, first of all, most of us are busy, ridiculously busy, so busy that we barely have time to workout a couple of days a week.  I hear the excuses all the time.  But if we do not have time to take care of our health, then you better bet it is time to “cut the fat”!

So how do you cut the fat??  Make sure that the things you are working on are worth the amount of time you spend.  Whether it is for a business project or a school volunteer job, you have to ask yourself if the outcome is worth the effort!  This applies to your workout, too.  How effective and efficient is your workout?  Make sure that you are giving each hour that you come to class your best effort.  Other tips for being more effective with your time management include allotting certain times of the day for checking email, Facebook, Twitter, etc., buying more online to reduce errands and when making meals that will freeze easily, make enough for two full meals and freeze one for another week.

Here are a few of my favorite convenience sites that help me cut out some errands which makes managing my afternoons much better:

Amazon Prime

Soap.com – household supplies

Wag.com – pet supplies

Munchery.com (awesome meal delivery service)

Oh, and my favorite cut the fat tip:  do not do for your kids what they can do for themselves (I am still working on this one).  OK, this is a hard one, and takes lots of practice, but slowly your kids will adapt and become more self sufficient which frees up more time for you!