“How do I start?” “How can I fit it all in?” “How do I make it all work?”
These are the top three common questions I get from my amazing clients who are truly wanting to live a healthier lifestyle, but are insanely busy. Being insanely busy is not a bad thing, it just requires you to be very organized, like more organized than you have ever been before.
I want to share with you my top three hacks to living a healthier lifestyle when you have a busy career.
The key here is to incorporate all of your healthy habits throughout your day. Not just in the morning or waiting until after work.
My mom lived for the weekends. She was a single mother raising two teenagers – my brother and me. We were busy, she was busy, and she worked a full time 9-5 job. She really wanted to relax on the weekends to rejuvenate herself for the upcoming week. I remember my mom on a Sunday morning, laying on the couch watching her old western movies and that was her Sunday. On the couch – watching cowboy movies!
Now, I find myself with a love for binge watching old TV shows and old Christmas movies in December. My daughter even commented to me last Sunday “oh mom the movies you watch are so old and boring” I had a chuckle to myself as I recalled my mom on a Sunday watching her westerns.
I use Sundays to get caught up with Yellow Stone, so the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. But in order to make her Sunday’s a lazy Sunday she would carve out her week to make sure that everything was done. For my mom, she would pick one thing to do each day. Monday’s it would be laundry, Tuesday’s she would vacuum, Wednesday’s get groceries, Thursday clean the bathrooms and so on so that come Saturday and Sunday there was no extra household chores, no running around to do and all the groceries were bought. This is how she set herself up for success.
If you can do little things every day, it sets up your week for success and allows you the time you need to refill your energy cup.
Here are my Habit Hacks for Living a Healthy Lifestyle with a Busy Career:
- Pack your lunch – The easiest way to stay healthy and know that you are choosing right for your body and your mind is to pack your lunch. Plan it, prep it, pack it. It will save you time and money and ensure that you are eating a properly portioned meal.
And if you’re thinking that you are already super busy and don’t have time pack your lunch at the end of each day – here is your solution, take a couple of hours on Sunday morning as your non negotiable and meal prep. Make all of your lunches for Mon-Fri on Sunday morning so that all you have to do is grab and go through out the week. - Bring your water bottle with you EVERYWHERE – Personally, my water bottle is glued to me. I never leave home with out it. It’s a habit that I’ve taught my whole family. We even have a whole cupboard dedicated to our water bottles – but we never leave the house without one. Grocery shopping, running errands, to work, to the gym, it goes with me all places, all the time. This increases your water consumption throughout the day, saves money so that you’re not in a panic trying to find a water to buy or settle for something else that does not serve your health such as a sugary drink or juice. It is also an easy way to track your water – I know that 3 water bottles gives me my water intake for the day! Plus 2 cups of tea = my 3L of daily healthy fluids and my body is well hydrated!
- Get your work out in! – Even if you have a 12-16 hour day, you can find time to sneak in a quick HIIT, Tabata or add in a strength training routine. When you start to exercise your energy increases, when you have more energy, you crave the work outs. The trick is to find when your energy is at it’s peak. Are you a morning, afternoon or evening person? And once you find that, you capitalize on your peak energy time!
First thing in the morning means BEFORE breakfast, BEFORE work. First thing is great to get it out of the way. Working out at home is a time saver, HIIT and TABATA workouts are great to pound off first thing or if you have time to hit the gym, super sets will get your workout done faster then regular timed sets.
Lunch Time – if you’re lucky enough to work close to a gym, take a lunch break and get your sweat on. Focus on your strength training supersets here.
Right after work – Like I mean RIGHT after work. Don’t even go home – drive straight to the gym. Have you bag packed, a protein shake or bar as a little pick me up and go right to the gym. Make this part of your daily routine.
If you prefer to do a work out at home – there are a tone of great video’s to choose from now a days and free videos on you tube. I just want to say “proceed with caution” here as it is easy to NOT follow through with your scheduled workout when training from home. It is very easy to not get off the couch. So designate an area such as your garage, a spare room or downstairs living room as your workout space. Have your weights, videos, bands, balls all ready to go for your training session. Accountability is a huge motivator, so if you have a work out buddy or have hired a coach, having that extra boost of a person to hold yourself accountable to helps to make sure you get the training done.
Each of these three tips allows you to put yourself first. Here, you are taking care of your health and making you priority number one. You are still managing your day, but doing it in a smart way that improves your habits, your health and encourages a healthy lifestyle. These three simple hacks are easy to integrate! Above all, listen to your body because nothing is as important as your well-being.