In my 10 years as a fitness professional, I’ve heard lots of excuses about why people won’t exercise. Hands down, the number-one reason is that they “just don’t have the time.” Well, listen up, everyone! I’m about to solve this problem once and for all. Every day has 24 hours in it, and every person has daily tasks that they must complete and daily tasks that they elect to complete. Every appointment you make has an impact on your day, and–this is key–you choose those appointments. It’s not about the time. It’s about the priorities.

Identifying Priorities

The best way to identify your priorities is to look at how you spend your time each day. Are you glued to your work computer? Can you be found at happy hour with your buddies five nights a week? Have you ever missed an episode of “Lost”? In many cases, we simply fill our time with activities by habit and not by what we’d really love to be doing.

Assessing your activities is a great way to check in and evaluate. If happy hour is what keeps you sane, you probably shouldn’t give it up. But if it’s simply a habit and you find yourself enjoying it less by the third day in a row, think of something else that might make you happier.

Multitasking

Some of the fittest people I know are also the busiest. A role model of mine is my former boss–a long-distance runner, power cyclist, and fitness-instructor extraordinaire. She is also a mother who works two jobs, has an active social life, does community service, and has a lot of fun. So how does she do it? Well, she does have more energy than most people I know, but she also has her priorities in line. Family comes first, so she makes her family time active with mountain-biking vacations with her husband and snowboarding trips with her boys. To catch up with friends, she goes for a long run with them before work.

Now, I’m using her as an example–I don’t think her lifestyle is for everyone. For me, a mountain-biking vacation sounds like the opposite of romantic. But I do like to go for walks with friends instead of going to a movie. My friends are active people, and it’s fun to combine socializing and exercise.

Choosing Your Activities

For me, exercise is just part of my day. Just as I wouldn’t leave the house without brushing my teeth, I wouldn’t go through the day without moving my body. I choose to do this every day because it’s important to me. It’s more important than catching the newest episode of “American Idol” or updating my Facebook profile every hour. I’m not knocking relaxation; I’m just saying that it’s a choice.

If there’s really a TV show that you don’t want to miss and you can’t TiVo it or watch it on the Web, most gyms have TVs. But if you just want to lay low for a while, own that. Take a good look at the activities you choose to fill your time. Then don’t tell your trainer you didn’t make it to the gym because you didn’t have the time–tell her that your priorities were elsewhere.

[Photo by ||!prliignore0||]