Life is busy as we try to fill many roles, employee, student, mother, sister, the list goes on. Sometimes it seems next to impossible to make time for a workout. So, how do we do it? How do some individuals find time to exercise every day and others can’t even find time to exercise once a week? What is their secret? The fact of the matter is that there is no secret.

I have to be brutally honest and inform you that it is up to you whether you exercise. However, that is good news because being able to make such decisions over your life places you in the driver’s seat. Basically, you get to decide what you want to be a part of your life. You just have to make exercising a priority and you need to have a good reason for why you are exercising. It must be meaningful. Furthermore, there has to be a purpose for you do stick to an exercise routine.

Meaningful & Purposeful Goals

When we set goals that have no meaning to us, the chances are that we will neglect and forget those goals. You are probably wondering “What is she referring to when she talks about meaning?” I will give you a great example. When I needed to fit into a bridesmaid’s dress for my brother’s wedding, I went for a run every morning despite working a full-time job and going to graduate school full time. I did it because being a part in my brother’s wedding meant a lot to me.

Another good example of a meaningful goal would be because you want to feel healthy and confident, or you are training for climbing some mountains during your next vacation. Setting meaningful goals differs from person to person, but once you have the goal, you will be able to implement actions daily towards this goal. You can try to make time for a workout, even if it is only a ten-minute workout. Every workout counts and even a ten-minute workout can be very effective. So here are some questions you can ask yourself while you are coming up with your goal to exercise:

Why do I want to start exercising?

What does my health mean to me?

What will happen if I do not start exercising?

How can I achieve this goal?

What type of actions will bring me closer to this goal?

Should I give myself a time frame?

How will I keep track of my goal?

Goals, Habits & Exercise

Your goal will eventually transform your daily habits. Everything that we do daily, was at some point a goal for the day and then turned into a habit that we no longer question. For instance, brushing out teeth, is a great example. At some point during our young life after hearing reminders from our parents and dentists about how important it is to brush our teeth, we decided to start brushing our teeth so that we can shut them up or because we wanted to have a nice smile. The goal was to brush our teeth in order to have a nice smile or to make our parents and dentist stop harassing us about brushing our teeth. Now, we just do it without questioning it. It became a part of our daily routine.

In our mind process, decisions to make improvements lead to goals and our actions towards those goals become habits. My theory is that when you take actions that lead to fulfilling a goal, that eventually those actions stick with you and become the norm. After a while exercising every morning will become the norm so you don’t have to beat yourself up over making time for it. Now, go take a piece of paper and a pen and create your goal, but make sure it is a SMART goal, because only SMART goals lead to long-term change. What are SMART goals? Please read below and as you read each definition, write your own answer to the question on a piece of paper.

SMART Goals

SPECIFIC: Your goal should be detailed.

• What do you want to achieve?
  • Example: I want to lose 10 pounds. Or I want to eat more vegetables.

MEASURABLE: You should keep track of whether you are achieving your goal.

• How will you keep track of your progress?
  • Example: I will weigh myself every Monday. Or I will keep a food log.

ATTAINABLE: Your goal should be realistic and manageable.

• Do you have the resources to attain this goal?
  • Example: I have a gym membership or a park nearby so that I can walk daily. OR I am able to go grocery shopping for myself and pick the foods that I want in my diet.

RELEVANT: Your goal should have meaning.

• What does it mean to me to achieve this goal?
  • Example: I want to lose 15 pounds so I can feel like a role model for my children.

TIME-BASED: Your goal should have a deadline.

• By when do you want to accomplish this goal?
  • Example: I will lose 5 pounds in the next 10 weeks.

Monitoring Progress

In order to ensure that you are taking actions and that there has been some progress, you should make it a habit to record your progress or use a planner to pre-schedule your workouts. I love writing things into my planner and then checking them off at the end of the day. It is a very rewarding feeling that can aid in maintaining your new habits.

I have found myself using various planners over the years but the ones that stuck with me the most are the Lilly Pulitzer Jumbo Planner and the Law of Attraction Planner. I love the Lilly Pulitzer Planner because it comes in different designs and provide great space for writing in your daily tasks. On the other hand, the Law of Attraction Planner allows you to be more detailed with your daily tasks because it provides actual time slots. Furthermore, the Law of Attraction Planner allows you to tackle various changes that you may want to implement. In my opinion you can’t go wrong with either one.

Conclusion

Making time for exercising should become much easier once you have identified the purpose and the actions that need to be taken. From this point out you look at your daily routine and see where you can squeeze in some time for a workout. Try to do it first thing in the morning because it will make for a much more productive and positive day. And if you have children, try to alternate with your partner and you go for a walk while he watches the kids for thirty minutes and vice versa. As long as you know the purpose behind your goals, the actions will start to fall into place.

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