Your Challenge Today:

Your daily routine … how do you make it all work?

By Bernadette Kathryn, LMT, IHLC


 

The secret of your future

is hidden in your daily routine.

~ Mike Murdock

 


 

My daily routine is unique to my lifestyle and career. I like the way my schedule works, most of the time. I have what many consider a strange agenda that evolved many years ago when I began teaching fitness classes. I was never what one would call a ‘night owl, and I am sure many who know me would even laugh at that thought, I am pretty tuckered out around 9 PM. Sad, some would say, and that’s OK, I like the mornings when the rest of the world is sleeping. I find early morning to be peaceful and a good time for me to go to work. I have what I call a semi-flexible schedule beginning with early morning appointments mixed with afternoon/evening appointments and my time in the middle of the day. I like to go to the gym, cook, do errands, correspondence, etc. during my downtime, it’s much less hectic than your typical ‘prime time’ rush hours at the gym. Since I don’t have a ‘regular’ job where I go to an office on a ‘regular’ schedule my life does feel ‘unstructured, so I have to be the one to add the structure to my schedule or suffer the consequences.

 

I have to admit, the lack of structure in my schedule can be a challenge, it’s easy for me to want to be lazy and feel like I am ‘off’ of work when I don’t have a client see. But the truth is, there is plenty of work behind the scenes to make my actual job work smoothly the way I like it. I have all the standard responsibilities of any business, and I have to continue to take care of myself in the process. I have to get my exercise, eat healthily, drink water (find a potty), stick to a realistic schedule so I can get the sleep I need, computer time, bookkeeping, errands, etc. There are a lot of variables that we all need to keep ourselves together; the kids, the parents, the pets, personal maintenance, fun, continuing education, personal growth, community service – it’s a lot of work to keep it all together.

 

I am pretty sure your life is equally hectic taking care of business, family, home, community and fitting in all the stuff you have to do to take care of yourself and make it all work. How do you do it? How do you keep a healthy balance in your life and make sure you love yourself in the process? Which ball is the one that usually gets dropped, is it food preparation or exercise? Do you have a backup plan when you see the wind is about to change and your well-laid plans are blowing away with the wind? Do you have a go-to food place where you can be sure to pick up a healthy selection? Do you have a backup plan for exercise if you wanted to swim and it’s raining outside or too cold for the pool? What do you do when you are feeling sick, or you have an injury?

 

Committing is the first order of business, nothing happens without a commitment, that’s for sure. Then comes the planning and I suggest creating several plans if you don’t already have them. Choose restaurants or take out that you know has food that will support your goals and it’s also a great idea to keep your freezer stocked with healthy choices for those times when life is moving too fast, and you need a quick fix solution for dinner. The exercise element might be a little more tricky, and this is where you might need to get creative, but I have faith, you can do it. Come up with several exercise options including exercising at home if necessary, videos, DVD’s, the exercise channels, video streaming on the internet – there are lots of opportunities to keep you fit and prevent boredom.

 

We all need options and flexibility to make our daily lives work because we never really know what’s going to happen no matter how well we have planned. The most important thing is to be committed to your Living Fit Lifestyle, and you will reap the benefits of a happy, healthy life!

 


 

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