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How To Find Extra Time In Your Day
I know how it is to be up to your eyeballs in busy-ness. I have learned over the years, being a mom, running my fitness business and most recently working for my husband’s business, that time is a valuable commodity. Unfortunately I can’t create more hours in a day, but though these simple tips, my clients find that they are able to move through their days with greater ease, in turn making more time for their health and fitness.
I really hope you find these tips to make a difference for you too!
- Make a Plan! “Fail to Plan, Plan to Fail”: this is a saying I use with my clients constantly to get them on track with meal prep and their transformation success. But this is just as valuable our daily lives.
- Make a Physical To-Do-List: I do this at the end of my day for the next. I find that if I get stuck constantly cycling through a to-do list in your mind my productivity is completely hindered!!! Use your mobile device or a good ol’ pad a paper to jot down what’s in your head, clearing your mind so you focus on what you’re doing now.
- Focus! Now that you’ve offloaded some of the mind chatter and thoughts about what your to-do list is, really work on harnessing your attention deficit. The reality is that today with such fast paced lives, we can often get side tracked (i know I do!) and end up not completing one task completely. FOCUS! It seems simple but keep yourself in check and remind yourself that you can get to that (jot it down) after you’ve completed the task at hand.
- Handle things once (saves 15 to 20 minutes): When it comes to e-mail, voice mail, or paperwork, take immediate action—i.e., read, answer, delete, file—so you don’t have to come back to it. I know that clearing an email inbox could take a full day but being diligent and focusing the effort will complete it and save you time. The time saved can add up to ten hours a month.
- SAYING NO! I love this one! Saying “No” can totally be empowering as it can free up a whole wad of time that you would have committed away! This will give way to enabling you to commit to this things that matter to you: like your fitness and food prep!
- Just Do It! Just like Nike said: just do it! Be decisive, complete the tast and move on. This is an amazing time saving mechanism- every minute you spend agonizing over a decision you slow down your ability to take action. Give yourself a set timeline to complete a task- this will push you to stay on track and focused- when times up- move on chicky!
- “A Creative Mess Is Better that Idle Tidyness” I have no idea who this quote is by but I used to have a plaque in my room with this saying on it as a kid. But it still holds true to my life today. If you lighten up you cleaning standards you can save yourself 30-45 minutes a day. Aiming for “tidy, dirt removal” versus “perfectly spotless” can free up a whole lot of time! Furthermore, if you can hire someone once a month or every two weeks to do the deep scrubbing then that is money well spent.
- TV TIME: Ok. Commit to one show. Whether it is the Bachelor Ben, or X-Files, pick one. Statistics Canada states that Canadians watch up to 2.8 hours of television a day!!! Can you imagine if you reduced this to an hour a night; you would save upside of 10 +hours a week! Furthermore, with social media always pulling for our attention, allot 30 minutes max to surfing snapchat, instagram or your Facebook MAX. I have literally witnessed people waste hours on Facebook and blow off a workout because of it (brutal!).
Make it work for you. Life is busy and trying to make our days as productive as possible is idea. So finding a way to try to make the most of your day is the best way to be. I hope you find some of these tips to be insightful even if just a little reminder to focus and make time for the things that matter most. Then you can stop making excuses for getting fit and transforming into the best version of you!
About the Author Catherine Tanaka
My name is Catherine Tanaka. I am a Personal Trainer, Transformation Coach, Yogi enthusiast and Mom of two. I am on a mission to make a difference in others happiness through fitness using the best research available to give you the best fitness hacks to make being the best version of you possible. Learn more about my one-on-one coaching or check out my Online Course - The Body Project Protocol.
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