Often it can feel like you barely get a minute to yourself, what with working a full-time job, taking care of children, housework, preparing meals, spending time with a partner and family and a long to-do list. A hectic work schedule and tending to the needs of others can mean you put your own health and fitness aside. Though all my years of working with clients, a busy schedule is the main reason my clients give for not exercising or eating well. But with a little planning you can maintain a healthy lifestyle despite a busy schedule. Here are my top 10 tips for staying happy and healthy when you are short on time:
1. Plan Your Meals
On a Sunday, make time to sit down and plan what you will have for all meals that week. Make sure you make a grocery list. Do one big shop, if you can so that you have everything at your house and you are not left staring into an empty fridge, trying to think what to eat. If you don’t plan your meals ahead of time, you’re more likely to call your favourite Thai takeaway or be so hungry you eat a whole packet of cereal. A nut and seed cereal maybe, but you don’t need the whole packet!
2. Let’s Get Cooking
Dedicate one or two hours every weekend for bulk cooking, and you'll be thankful you did! Make up double batches of meals and freeze for breakfasts and/or lunches. Mix it up and make sure you have plenty of colourful veggies and good quality protein sources such as fish, beef, chicken etc. Cut up veggies, make salads and cook some quinoa or sweet potato. Store in containers in the fridge. Having large containers full of pre-cut vege and salads in the fridge will help give you multiple quick dinner and lunch options and are a big step towards a healthy week of eating!
3. Deliver It
No, not pizza! ☺ If you don’t have time to go to a farmers market, wholefoods shop or supermarket, then arrange a weekly delivery of your grocery goodies. Check out on line, if your local wholefoods shop or butcher or fish market make deliveries.
4. Pack A Travel Lunch
This saves money, the “I can’t find anything healthy to eat” cry, and keeps you healthy. It's only a hassle to do this in the first week of starting this new routine. After that, it becomes second nature. If you are heading out anywhere, especially with kids, take a healthy portable meal or some healthy snacks. Trust me, from experience, you will always be thankful you did!
5. Mix It Up With Smoothies For Breakfast
Tossing kale, spinach, avocado, celery, banana, kiwifruit, water and ice and into a blender doesn’t take long at all. Especially if you prepare those smoothie ingredients and have them neatly in a small jar in the fridge, ready to pop in your blender. Blitz it all up, then you can pour the smoothie in your jar and off you go. It takes no time at all to rinse out the blender when you're done too. Try it on alternate days for breakfast; less time, less clean up, and satisfying and healthy!
6. Move More At Work
Do some body weight exercises and stretches at your desk. Break up your day by doing a 5 minute workout every hour. Set a timer and breakup your jobs by doing a set of bodyweight squats, lunges or assisted push-ups off your desk for 5 minutes. Take the stairs instead of the lift and walk to talk to colleagues if you can, rather than email or call.
7. Try HIIT
A great time saver and an awesome way to get results fast, high-intensity interval training is the way to go. With workouts you can do in less than 20 minutes, a quality HIIT workout will have you working hard with explosive, short bursts of high energy. And you can do these workouts at home, anytime you like with some amazing online programs.
8. Schedule Your Workout
Schedule your workout and make it a non-negotiable. Like I said before it doesn’t have to be a long workout, even just 10 minutes of some HIIT, a walk at lunchtime, 15 minutes of Yoga, if done daily, will have you feeling and looking amazing! I've personally noticed that no matter how much I enjoy working out, it's the first thing to go, when I get busy, if I don't make it a priority.
9. Re-evaluate Priorities
You can't be everything to everyone, and you're no good to anyone if you're worn out and over committed. When you're incredibly busy, it's probably not the best idea to train for a marathon, enter a triathlon or an event you have to train long hours for. These events take lots of training, mental and physical energy and will take time from friends and family, add stress to your life that you may not be capable of handling at the moment. Save these fun activities until you can commit wholeheartedly. TV can also sap your time and energy. If you just can’t miss your favourite program, then get up during the ads and do some exercises, like squat jumps, push-ups, a plank, or jumping jacks.
10. Do More Incidental Exercise
Walk a lot! Aim to spend 50% of your day standing or moving around. Our bodies need movement and more often than not we aren’t moving a lot even when we are really busy. Have a walking meeting instead of a coffee one, take the stairs instead of the lift, and get off a few stops before your bus stop. Park further away from work and then walk, or walk to work if you don’t live far away, walk kids to school or to the bus stop, meet a friend for a walk or walk the dog.
If you are busy, as we all are, incorporate these tips into your life to get that much needed movement in your day and to create a happy body and mind.
