Susie's Newsletter 2012

“No time is a poor excuse. We all have 24 hours each day to use. How do you use yours?”

Every single person I know is busy. How many people do you know who regularly say; “Hang on, I have a spare hour, what can I do with it?”

There is no doubt that people are becoming increasingly busy; long working hours, long commutes, bulging social diaries all contributing to extremely full schedules and a constant lack of time to go the things that we really want to do done, or spend quality time with those closest to us. In saying that, we all have 24 a day and some of us manage to do a lot with that time, and others far less which basically means that we need to get better with our time management if we are to fit regular exercise and healthy eating into the equation.

An easy way to gauge ways in which you could potentially become more time efficient is to work out where you spend your time but more importantly, where you waste it. Simply make a template of your entire 24 hours, and fill in the spaces over a week. The most common areas people waste time are watching mindless television and the advertisements that go with it, commuting, getting out of bed late and surfing the internet. While there is nothing wrong with watching a little TV, or relaxing, doing it out of habit and fatigue as opposed to interest and meaning is where we are off track.

Once you are aware of where a lot of your time goes, you can start to develop strategies to be more efficient. Taping shows you like and watching them without the advertisements, trying to drive outside of peak times, getting up early and fitting in some exercise – all of these are examples of ways that busy people get things done in their world.

Specifically, to really be on control of your weight and your body, you need to have a very clear idea of what you need to do each and every day to support your health related goals, and how you can fit these things into your schedule. Once you are aware of these steps, documenting them and practicing them until they become a daily habit will be the act that links your health desires into your health outcomes.

So this week, as you sit by your computer with your morning coffee, start to make a list of all the things you need to do each day to make sure you eat well and exercise. Print the list out and stick it up by your computer. A glance at it regularly will remind you that you need to make yourself a cup of green tea, or walk upstairs to the bathroom to get your step number up. Remember, it is all the little things that add up and lead to long term health outcomes.