Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Speaker 1: Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Speaker 1: Today's tip is that you don't have to just be
Speaker 1: a weekend warrior. Even if you have a very busy
Speaker 1: schedule during the week, it is possible to exercise some
Speaker 1: It doesn't have to be daily, but doing a little
Speaker 1: something midweek can change your perception of yourself and your life.
Speaker 1: So I have seen a great many schedules over the years,
Speaker 1: and I've found that for many people who work long hours,
Speaker 1: and particularly for people who also have families, exercise often
Speaker 1: becomes a weekend thing. We know we would do it frequently,
Speaker 1: but work can be unpredictable, you get stuck at work late,
Speaker 1: or you're traveling to three different cities. When you get home,
Speaker 1: your family has first DIBs on your time. You don't
Speaker 1: want to detract from that. So maybe you hit the
Speaker 1: gym on Saturday, or run during a kid's soccer practice,
Speaker 1: especially during winter months when it is often cold and dark.
Speaker 1: On week days, during the hours when you're not at work,
Speaker 1: you figure a little weekend activity is what is possible
Speaker 1: right now, and indeed something is almost always better than nothing.
Speaker 1: But if you have settled into life as a weekend warrior,
Speaker 1: you might ponder if you could add just a tiny
Speaker 1: bit of something during the week. It might be easier
Speaker 1: than you think. In my recent book Tranquility by Tuesday,
Speaker 1: I share one of my favorite time management rules, which
Speaker 1: is that three times a week is a habit. Anything
Speaker 1: you do three times a week is a regular part
Speaker 1: of your life. It can be part of your identity.
Speaker 1: This realization is simple, but it can be life changing.
Speaker 1: Many times, when we think of things we would like
Speaker 1: to do in our lives, we realize that we already
Speaker 1: are doing them once or twice a week. It's not
Speaker 1: a lot, but it is not nothing either. Not as
Speaker 1: much as I want. Is much different from none. If
Speaker 1: you are doing something once or twice a week, getting
Speaker 1: to three times just involves small tweaks, not a total
Speaker 1: lifestyle overhaul. It is doable. So if you are currently
Speaker 1: a weekend warrior, see if there's a way you could
Speaker 1: fit in a mere fifteen to twenty minutes of physical
Speaker 1: activity into the middle of your week. If you happen
Speaker 1: to work from home on Fridays, as a reasonable proportion
Speaker 1: of folks do, that would be an obvious answer, go
Speaker 1: for a twenty minute walk when you would have been
Speaker 1: commuting and voila, you are a regular exerciser. If that
Speaker 1: doesn't apply to you, another option is to take a
Speaker 1: pair of sneakers with you on your business trips and
Speaker 1: get to a hotel gym or walk around that city
Speaker 1: some morning or in the evening after your meetings and
Speaker 1: before dinner. If you are not traveling, you could challenge
Speaker 1: yourself to do some body weight exercises some night for
Speaker 1: twenty minutes after your kids go to bed. Push ups,
Speaker 1: sit ups, et cetera. It's something and it can help
Speaker 1: a lot. Or maybe you get up twenty minutes earlier
Speaker 1: just one morning during the week. I know you need
Speaker 1: your sleep, and I am not telling you to wake
Speaker 1: up at four thirty am every morning to work out daily.
Speaker 1: Just one morning, get up a little earlier and do
Speaker 1: something one day a week really isn't that much, but
Speaker 1: fitting something just once into your work week can change
Speaker 1: a lot. I mean, you'll get more physical activity in
Speaker 1: your life, which can boost energy levels and mood, and
Speaker 1: that's great, but you will also start to change your
Speaker 1: perception of many things. You will see that you can
Speaker 1: do something other than work during the week. Everything does
Speaker 1: not fall apart. When you do. You can manage to
Speaker 1: work hard, spend time with your family, and find a
Speaker 1: few minutes for other things. This is a powerful realization.
Speaker 1: You will also start to think of yourself as a
Speaker 1: regular exerciser. It is not just something for other people
Speaker 1: or something you only squeeze in on the weekends. You
Speaker 1: do it three times a week, so it is a habit.
Speaker 1: It is part of your identity. When something is part
Speaker 1: of our identities, we tend to take it a bit
Speaker 1: more seriously, and so you might start challenging yourself a
Speaker 1: bit more and that is great. In any case, think
Speaker 1: through your work weeks and think about what might be
Speaker 1: possible with your schedule. An hour at the gym in
Speaker 1: the middle of a Tuesday is probably unlikely, but exercise
Speaker 1: doesn't have to look like that. All it takes is
Speaker 1: a little something to change a story, and when we
Speaker 1: change a story, we can truly change our whole lives.
Speaker 1: In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and
Speaker 1: here's to making the most of our time. Hey everybody,
Speaker 1: I'd love to hear from you. You can send me
Speaker 1: your tips, your questions, or anything else, just connect with
Speaker 1: me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod
Speaker 1: that's B the number four, then Breakfast p o D.
Speaker 1: You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast
Speaker 1: Podcasts at iHeart media dot com that Before Breakfast is
Speaker 1: spelled out with all the letters. Thanks so much, I
Speaker 1: look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a
Speaker 1: production of I heart Radio. For more podcasts from I
Speaker 1: heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,
Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. H