Day 5: How To Find Time To Workout

The other day, I was cooking some veggies. I set the timer and jumped on the computer to do some work. When the timer went off, I thought something was wrong. There was no way 7 minutes had gone by. It felt like I just sat down. That’s when I realized I no concept of time. I lose so much time during the day simply because I don’t track it. It’s time to look at our time. Let’s look deeper into the real issue and how we can find the time we need to reach our goals.

Time is so different these days. Many people don’t even wear watches anymore. We use our phone if we feel the need to actually look at the clock, but that’s not even as often as we used to. Time so easily slips between our fingers, staying “busy” but not really productive. No wonder so many of us struggle with finding the time we need to get more done.

How Much Time Do You Have?

If you don’t know what time it is, how do you know if you have the time to do anything?

Clock on the wall. What is the time? — Photo by Ann Nekr on Pexels.com

After years of going without a watch, I got an Apple watch. I was amazed how many times someone would ask me what time it was. Ironically, my first reaction was “I don’t know”. Then, Steve would remind me I have the watch now.

This lack of awareness of time is why we waste so much of it. No wonder we don’t think we have time to workout or work on our goals. We are not being purposeful with the time we have.

Think of the amazing things we could do in just 30 minutes. Sadly, we don’t realize how many “30-minute” chunks we are wasting unless we search for it. If we find the wasted time and replace it with purpose-filled tasks. Think of what we could do! We could meal prep, clean the kitchen, put up laundry, wash a car, workout, do a Bible Study. The list is endless. Think of the thrill of accomplishment we would experience if we improve how we manage our time.

Find More Time

Do you want to use your time better? Do you want to find time to reach your goals this year? I know I do! Here are 7 tips to practice time management.

Start your day on time. Avoid hitting the snooze button and be protective over every second of your morning.
Decide on the amount of time it should take you to get ready and set a timer so you stick to it, even if you don’t have to go anywhere.
Use a time management app or set a timer when you sit down to check emails or facebook.
Make an effort to be more purposeful with how you spend your time by creating a clear schedule for the day.
Be honest with yourself. Lost time may be disguised as perceived busyness, work or productivity. Ask yourself “am I really being productive or do I feel busy because I haven’t been managing my time well?”
Give yourself a time check-up at the end of the day. Review your hit list. Did you get everything done? How can you improve?
Give yourself time to improve. I doubt you will suddenly be a time-master overnight. Improving time management will take practice and patience. Extend yourself enough time and grace to get it right.

We only get one chance to use the 24 hours we are given today. We will never get it back. Will we be proud of the way we spent it or full of regret?