8 Ways To Create Time For Exercise
By: Lewis Keens
Tags: Health, Workout, Fitness, Exercise, Lifehacks

Practical advice to avoid distraction and prioritise your daily workout.

We all have the best intentions when it comes to working out, but many of us find it hard to stay motivated and be active, life sometimes gets in the way.

These time-creating life hacks will support you in making physical activity a daily priority.

Pixabay — pexels.com

1. Wake Up, Get Ready

Do you have the best intentions to work out, but time just runs out?

Change into activewear in the morning, so you are ready to work out. Doing this removes the barrier of needing to ‘get ready’ before starting your exercise.

Being in your workout clothes will prepare you psychologically to burn calories and make you more likely to prioritise your exercise earlier in the day.

2. Set Up Your Phone To Stop You Scrolling

A reaction in response to even a moment without stimulus in our digital world is to grab your phone and scroll through numerous social media feeds, trying to find brief entertainment.

Whether you scroll through Instagram over breakfast, read one of those annoying ‘Does anyone know if the supermarket is busy’ post’s on Facebook, or watch another Tiger King Tik Tok the level of entertainment is rarely remarkable and always fleeting.

Social media can be a fantastic way to stay connected with family and friends, but it is often overused. Data shows we spend over two hours per day on various platforms. Imagine the productivity of your workouts if you redirected that time.

Did you know smartphones can track the time you spend on social media? They also allow you to set a daily limit on specific apps, so you can choose when enough is enough.

In your iPhone, for example, just click on Settings > Screen Time > App Limits then choose how long is reasonable for you each day.

Ola Dapo — pexels.com

3. De-clutter Your Digital World

Author of Digital Minimalism, Cal Newport suggests using a phone instrumentally as a tool for problem-solving, not a constant companion.

Basically using our new-fangled technology as only a telephone.

In this video with Daniel Pink, Cal outlines three real-life tips to help you improve the relationship you have with your phone.

Phone addicts, take a deep breath now.

Delete any app where someone makes money from your attention every time you tap it.

Say goodbye to social media apps and any apps with advertisement. Huge step!

Put your phone into ‘Do Not Disturb’ mode by default.

Doing this allows selected incoming calls, from family, for example, while removing unwanted interruptions and enabling you to choose when you interact with your phone.

In your iPhone just click on Settings > Do Not Disturb then your schedule and select which people can disturb you and when.

Top Tip: Limit the people on your list to only those absolutely necessary.

When you’re at home, leave the phone in the foyer (away from you).

The old ‘out of sight, out of mind method’.

Yep, remember when house phones were a thing? They had wires, and you couldn’t wander very far with them. Well, this method attaches those invisible wires to help to try and ensure your phone is a used a little more like a phone and not a 24-hour entertainment/ distraction centre!

Applying any of Cal’s three steps will remove distraction and minimise interruptions, allowing you to work out and stay in your zone.

Ryan Stone — unsplash.com

4. Create A ‘No WiFi Zone’

No, you don’t need to throw away your WiFi router altogether, but if you want to go a step further to avoid distractions, there are ways to limit WiFi access across your devices.

Apps such as WiFi Blocker allow you to block all or specific devices in your home, giving you some dedicated time offline and more time to get a sweat on.

energepic — pexels.com

5. Make a List

Use an app like Google Tasks or notebook and pen. Spend a few minutes over breakfast, writing down five things that you would like to achieve before bedtime.

Is exercise on your list?

If it isn’t, you’re unlikely to prioritise it during the day. To help ensure exercise doesn’t get forgotten, place it on your list consistently and get into the habit of making it part of your daily five.

If you want to be more adventurous, you can set yourself goals for exercise in terms of minutes, repetition or even calories burned (a smartwatch can track this for you). Goal Setting can help spur you on and make your sessions more focused.

cottonbro — pexels.com

6. Prompts For Progress

Seeing improvements is incredibly rewarding, it can help you focus, and it also boosts motivation levels, even on those not-so-good days.

Whether making weekly or monthly goals, pinning up a wall chart creates a fantastic visual support and can allow a little variety and flexibility from one day to the next.

Putting your chart or a reminder in a prominent place such as on the fridge or the door will help to prompt you to get moving!

Sites such as darebee.com has some easy to follow wall charts covering all sorts of physical activity and nutrition challenges. All are super sharp, slick designs that will have you looking forward to ticking off the days as you go.

pixabay — pexels.com

7. Alarm Alert

Simple but effective.

If you sit down to work, set the alarm to remind you when your time is up, and it is time to exercise.

Repeat to prevent binge-watching a Netflix series, playing for hours on computer games or lounging around all day reading your book.

Aim to be more active by walking around for 10 minutes of each hour you are sat down, and this will help clear your head and keep you feeling fresh.

Cliff Booth — pexels.com

8. Workout With Family or Friends

Most of us are missing the social side of exercise — local gym classes or training at your local sports club with teammates.

If you work out with a member of your household or get a friend involved, you can help keep one another accountable.

Supporting each other will create a much-needed social connection and also open up possibilities such as creating weekly competitions against each other or collaborative challenges to work together on. Even just doing workouts at the same time in real-life or via video call can boost motivation and make it all much more fun!

See if one of the eight methods works for you. Whichever way you choose, you will create more time for what matters to you!

Visit www.theinfinitelearners.com to read more from Lewis

Follow Lewis on Twitter: @lewisjkeens