How to Find Time to Exercise Everyday

by Natalie Belford

So you just bought some of the best exercise videos but can’t seem to find the time to work out? What should you do? Well, the important thing is to start realigning your concept of yourself and what you deserve. What happens if you say to yourself, “I’m going to look at my schedule, and somewhere in there I’m going to make twenty minutes or half an hour for myself”—whether that “self” time is working out or taking a bath? We know it’s not easy to claim that kind of time for yourself—but we are saying that it’s important, So let’s talk about scheduling some time for your workout.

The first step is, in fact, to schedule it, to look at your day or your week and figure out ahead of time where your workout fits. Then put it on your calendar, just the way you’d add a doctor’s appointment or lunch with friends. Don’t just say, “Well, sometime today I’ll get to it”—that is a recipe for failure that will only lead to more discouragement when the day has gone by and the workout somehow never quite happened.

So pick a specific time, and inform everybody, “This is my workout time, and I need to have you respect it.” Maybe you’ll choose half an hour when your children are watching television, or doing their homework, or cleaning up the kitchen after dinner. Maybe you prefer to get up half an hour earlier, or perhaps you can make a deal with your partner or children, passing on some household chore that they do while you work out.

The important thing is to treat your workout time just the way you would any other appointment—as something that you expect your family to help you keep. Then, dress the part. You want to have some kind of clothing that signifies you are working out, to you and everybody else. Even if you normally hang out in comfortable clothes, put on a whole different outfit for your workout—a special set of sweats, or a tank top and shorts that you wear at no other time.

Change your shoes, too—the psychological marker makes a big difference, and your expensive walking shoes or cross-trainers will hold up better if you use them only while working out. Finally, choose a protected space—maybe even your own bedroom, if that’s the only place you can be sure of half an hour of uninterrupted time.

Then make a rule: nobody comes into your workout space unless he or she works out with you. The key to finding the time to exercise is simply deciding that this is something that’s important to you.

Even for women who live alone, this can be a challenge. It’s all too easy to put friends, romantic partners, family members, and jobs at the top of our lists, while continually relegating ourselves to the bottom. For women with families, especially when children are small, the challenge is even greater. But over the years, we’ve both learned one thing: If your eating and exercise habits don’t seem important to you, they won’t seem important to anyone else.

The contrary is also true: If you’re committed to taking care of yourself, your family is likely to be very understanding. It’s a question of committing to yourself — which may be the most important commitment you’ll ever make.