Ain't got time for that!

The average person spends 4 hours a day looking at their cell phone screens. Really. Quickly replacing my pet peeve of wasting my time is hearing the excuse “I don’t have time….” It’s the ultimate excuse. Who can challenge that, right? We all know what it’s like to have the feeling every day that we just can’t get to everything. There is always something. Something unexpected like traffic is backed-up, kids are throwing up, or the meeting ran late. The number one excuse I hear over and over and over again working with clients to improve their health and fitness is: “I just don’t have time to (insert healthy activity here).”  And I immediately call bullshit. Just stop. Even our former President of the United States was a gym buff. None of us are THAT important, so we have time. Bottom line is, the way you spend your time reflects your priorities. Can’t miss an episode of Walking Dead? Priority. Have to cruise Tinder for an hour for the latest potentials? Priority. Binge watching Game of Thrones for 6 hours this weekend? Priority. I can very quickly and easily totally trash this excuse. I say: “Let’s start from the time you wake up. What time and why, then what do you do, etc.” Very quickly even within the first hour of most people’s day I can find 20 minutes or more of totally pissed away time. Most of the time it’s the multiple hitting the snooze button or hanging out in bed scrolling Facebook or checking emails.  Or spending an hour drinking coffee and watching the news.

Here is my homework challenge to my clients who try to justify their inability to complete health related tasks: for one day, at 5 minute intervals (set an alarm that literally goes off every 5 minutes all day long to remind you) write down everything you do. Alarm goes off and you're in the shower. Make a note of it. Alarm goes off and you are still fiddling around with that new app you just downloaded. Write it down. After doing this and reviewing just how many time-consuming menial tasks you engage in on a daily basis, you will feel like a real jerk. Seriously. Stop with the time excuses. I know single moms with 3 kids and 3 jobs who make time for workouts, and meal prep. It’s about priorities. That single mom gets up super early before her kids have to get up to get ready for school and gets her workout done at home. She has lunches for the next day packed up and ready before she goes to bed the night before. We all have our own obstacles. Jobs that require a lot of travel. Swing shift work. Multiple jobs. I get it. I own three businesses and a non-profit.  I literally could spend every minute of the day working on my to-do list, for work without any food or bathroom or sleep breaks and still never get to the end of the to do list. The most successful people in the world all have one thing in common: they get stuff done and their limited time reflects their priorities. They are not spending 4 hours a day swiping left or right or shooting imaginary bad guys in a video game. They are always working on the next important thing, and how to better themselves and their projects. So drop the phone and get those priority items for the day done first.  

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