Finding the time to add a small amount of exercise to a daily schedule is not difficult. Many studies agree that ten minutes of exercise completed several times a day is just as effective as exercising for that same amount of time in one session. Finding thirty minutes to spare in a busy day may not sound easy but finding ten minutes to spare is simple.
The first and most important thing to do when adding exercise to a daily schedule is to make exercise one of the day’s priorities. When exercise is considered an important part of the day, keeping it on the schedule is easy. Rewarding a person for completing an exercise program is an excellent motivator to encourage the person to make time to exercise. Most people will find the time to exercise if there is some sort of motivation for completion. Motivation can be as minimal as seeing a movie at the end of the week or as elaborate as planning a vacation at the end of six months.
Exercising as the first activity in the morning is an excellent way to find time to work out. Once this schedule is established, it is much easier to maintain than a late day exercise schedule. There are generally fewer interruptions when exercise is completed early and this is especially true for parents with children. Ten or fifteen minutes of walking after taking the children to school is very beneficial and easier to complete than the same amount of exercise once the children are home. Lunchtime exercising is also an easy way to keep work outs on a schedule. Eating a light lunch and walking for the remaining ten minutes of a lunch hour is a simple addition of exercise.
Getting a small television or a book rack for your treadmill or stair climber is also an excellent way to save time while exercising. This allows a person to watch a favorite television show or read a good book while exercising. Accomplishing two tasks at the same time gives a person the feeling that he or she has not wasted time. Reading or watching television while exercising also distracts a person enough so that many people will actually spend more time exercising. Walking through an entire thirty minute television program is not difficult when the mind is occupied. Having a book rack on a piece of exercise equipment is also a great benefit for students. Required reading can be accomplished while exercising and some people are even able to use a lap top while walking on a treadmill.
Another excellent way to add a small amount of exercise to a daily schedule is by making the exercise a social event. Walking for fifteen minutes with a neighbor or a friend passes the time quickly and allows for friendly social interaction. Both of these activities help to boost the feelings of well-being that are enjoyed by healthy people.
