By Angie O
One of the most difficult tasks for most of us to master is time management. We run in a million directions, and only a few of us have both a talent for prioritizing and an ability to accurately estimate how much time it takes to do things. But for most of us, it's a challenge, and we put everything else that needs to be done ahead of making any time to care for ourselves.
As a result, exercise and proper eating habits get short as our lives become a scramble from one task to another, and our weight and health quietly slips out of our control.
It doesn't have to be that way!! Pam and I are two of the busiest people around, and if we can master it on our crazy schedules with kids, school, family, friends, social gatherings, careers, etc .....YOU CAN TOO! Our health HAS to be in that list! There will come a time when it will be too late. FIX it now so you can enjoy life to the fullest and not be a "wish I had taken the time person". Of course, you'll never have all the time you want for all the things you want to do, but with a little help, you can identify the specific things you most want more time for, instead of enduring a constant nagging feeling that there's not enough time for anything for you. Even better, you can find ways to make time for those things, but you'll have to make some choices.
The first choice is just deciding to go ahead and do it, and stop being satisfied to continue procrastinating and scrambling. And the second step is deciding how to approach the challenge. In the "ieatfit" food journal we have made it simple to pre-plan and to stay on course.
Take a look at this assessment tool we found using just a couple of those categories.
Think about your role as a Working Person and as a Growing Person and consider your priorities in each of these life roles:
As a Working Person:
· Working for income
· Getting additional job training
· Advancing at work
· Working for personal satisfaction
· Working for recognition and status
· Working for a sense of challenge
· Other priorities:
_________________________________________________________
As a Growing Person:
· Adopting healthier lifestyle
· Learning new skills
· Getting more education
· Eating better and sticking with the "ieatfit" journal
· Becoming more active
· Prayer or meditation
· Other priorities:
_________________________________________________________
In each category, check off the items that are most important to you. If an important aspect of your values or priorities is not listed, add it to the list.
Now look at the items you've identified as your priorities. Of these, select two or three that you would like to devote more time to, toward the goal of achieving a more balanced life. Chances are, these are things you're doing a little already, but not at a level corresponding with how important they are to you. You want to take more time in your life for these priorities, so something's got to give.
That brings us to a list of times during a typical day that most people aren't able to use to full efficiency. This abbreviated selection will give you a start and help you think of other times you may be able to use to better effect.
· Bundle Errands-Schedule errands in the same part of town for the same day of the week to avoid duplicating trips. This is always a good tip for saving time and gas, but with the slow, heavy traffice. Just this one adjustment could sometimes save you hours in a week.
· Drive time-But sometimes you can't avoid the trip, like the drive to work each morning. Did you know that the car is the second most common place for Americans to eat breakfast? Sad but true, but instead of cramming any old thing down, or skipping breakfast altogether, grab an eziekiel muffin with organic peanut butter, or lite yogurt with a good granola in it. There are options to not skipping breakfast. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day and skipping it is a bad start to your healthy day! When you prepare something for the car instead of skipping you can eat at a more leisurely pace during that long drive, or even the short drive that takes a long time!
· Lunch hour-Do you work through your lunch hour? Many people do, without assessing whether that effort is producing a result worth the sacrifice. If you're giving your lunch hour to your employer, consider taking it back for your health. Use it for a walk, a respite of prayer or meditation or to run a couple nearby errands.
· TV-Consider watching less television. Refer to your list of priorities again. What's really important to you? You may consider your TV time your much-deserved relaxation, but could you maximize the value of that time by using a treadmill, stationary bike or light weights while you're watching? That's what I do!
· Phone-Most of us spend a ton of time on the phone. And what else can you do while you chat? Consider using talk time for multitasking. While you chat, perhaps fold laundry or pack that healthy breakfast you'll want in the car tomorrow morning or healthy lunch you need to take out with you.
· Waits-Plan ahead to have something to do for wait time you can't avoid. If you've got a doctor's appointment, consider using the wait time to prepare your shopping list or update your "ieatfit" food journal.
We know how the minutes drain away during the day when you're not mindful of how you spend them, and you can end up feeling like there's just no time to eat well, exercise or even enjoy healthy ways to relax. Your "ieatfit" journal should become a schedule time on Sunday to prepare the week and be kept in an easy to grab place during the day.
But the reverse is also true. If you are attentive to the ways your minutes get away from you, you can devise techniques for recapturing that time, and devoting that time to the healthier habits you value.
Through Thick & Thin
Looking for more time to exercise your good intentions? Whether it's for better eating, exercise, healthy relaxation, spiritual growth or some much needed, good old fashioned fun, you only have so many minutes in the day. Start by identifying your priorities, then look at the things you spend time on that are less important, and cut those out. There are lots of choices you can make that will help you spend your time more efficiently.
