Can you commit to two hours of time, four times a week?
Finding the time to work on your temple, and making it a priority.
12/27/20243 min read
We often like to conceptualize time as a commodity. If we were just able to bottle it up and sell it, it would be the single most valuable item in the universe. Time is valuable, and even though it is free to everyone, we never seem to have enough of it. We only have so much time each day (and night). This makes it a limited resource, and when we have a limited recourse, we have to manage it. Time management. Those two words together never seem to sound like something fun, but with a little bit of focus it can be done.
If we can start by planning our day, and then our week, we can lay a foundation that will keep us sane in an ever-changing world. Sure, things come up in the day that can throw you off a planned track, but with a strong foundation already laid you will be able to get back on that track very easily. Part of the foundation you set up needs to be time for physical activity. More and more we are living in a world that keeps us sedentary. Our bodies are meant to move… literally engineered for movement. Because of this, to take care of our body requires setting aside time to move with the purpose of challenging ourselves physically. Regular exercise needs to be a part of everyone’s routine in life. That does not mean you have to “pump iron” on a regular basis. Exercise can be a lot of things (yoga, Pilates, running, calisthenics, tennis, pickle ball, mountain biking…). You can go to a local gym or fitness center, or set up an area in your home to lay down a yoga mat and get to work.
Following guidelines set by the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), we all need a basic amount of both cardio and strength training. The ACSM recommends at least 150 minutes of aerobic activity per week and two sessions of strength training(1). That is a good start, but we all have different goals when it comes to personal fitness and wellness. We also all have our own list of excuses not to do it. Mostly these excuses revolve around “having the time.” Or rather, not having the time to spend exercising. Which is kinda crazy, because you are living in the machine that is your body, and it needs to be maintained or it will break down on you. And so, we circle back to time management. There are a lot of time management techniques out there to help you. I like one called the Pomodoro Technique.
“The Pomodoro Technique was created by entrepreneur and author Francesco Cirillo. This technique uses a timer to break down your work into intervals. Each interval is known as a Pomodoro, named after the tomato-shaped timer that Cirillo created.
How it works:
Choose a task you need to get done.
Set a timer (e.g., for 25 mins).
Focus on the task at hand.
When the timer rings, put a checkmark on a piece of paper.
Take a short break: Take a break for about three to five minutes. Go for a walk, grab a cup of coffee, do something non-work-related to give your brain a break.
Repeat steps two to five: Once you have completed this process four times, you can begin to take longer breaks (20–30 mins).
Types of people that will benefit from the Pomodoro Technique:
Creative thinkers
Those who feel burnt out from work/school
The Pomodoro technique doesn’t just teach your time management; it also teaches you in setting goals and how to achieve them. You’ll be able to better stick to your daily schedule and weekly schedule.(2)”
I like to focus and block time off for each task I am faced with in the day, and this technique works for me. There are other ways of going about this… my suggestion is finding what works for you and implement it into your weekly planning. Just remember to add time for exercise in your daily and weekly planner. Just like making a doctor’s appointment, you should schedule in time for physical fitness. I make sure I schedule two hours four times a week. This allows for plenty of time to weight train, as well as perform cardio-vascular fitness. By setting aside time, I have created the opportunity to show up and work out, thereby doing my part in taking care of my own health and wellness. So, schedule in your time. Make it a priority. Because if you do not have your health, you have nothing.
1) https://www.acsm.org/education-resources/trending-topics-resources/physical-activity-guidelines