When I speak to groups about time management, I ask the audience what the most common reason people give for not exercising. They always say that it’s, “I don’t have the time.”
I agree—that’s the most common reason by far. I then explain, however, that I do not believe it to be a valid excuse. It’s not that you don’t have the time, I explain, it’s that you don’t make the time.
We all have a certain number of activities that want to do, and need to do, in a given day, week, month, or year. From among all of those activities, the ones that we choose to do are those that we consider a priority.
Whether consciously or not, we all make decisions all the time about which activities are priorities for us, and which are not. When we say that we don’t have the time to exercise, for example, we are saying that we are choosing not to make exercise a priority.
I exercise first thing in the morning because that’s the way that I make sure that I make the time to exercise. I find if I don’t exercise as soon as I get up, then life gets in the way.
If you’ve been struggling with adopting an exercise program and haven’t tried to exercise first thing in the morning, try it. I know it might mean setting your alarm for early than you are used to, but exercise will help you overcome a bit less sleep, and will be beneficial for you in so many ways that it’s well worth adopting the new habit.
Take it Slow
Start by waking up just a bit earlier than usual, and just doing a bit of exercise first thing in the morning. Do that for 21 days to make it into a habit. Then, if you wish to, wake up a bit earlier, adding more time to your early-morning exercise program. And so on.
I’ve read that another aspect of this strategy is to sleep in comfy exercise clothes. I think that’s a great idea. I sleep in a t-shirt, so I’m halfway dressed for exercise when I get out of bed (I just add socks and shorts and then I slip on my sneakers when I get downstairs.)
If you’ve been struggling with adopting an exercise program and haven’t tried to exercise first thing in the morning, try it. I know it might mean setting your alarm for early than you are used to, but exercise will help you overcome a bit less sleep, and will be beneficial for you in so many ways that it’s well worth adopting the new habit.
Best regards,
David
p.s. What are your strategies for fitting exercise into your day? Join the conversation with your comments below…