Healthy Habits and Hectic Lives

Have you ever glanced at your calendar and wondered if someone had swapped it out for the President's agenda? That's how I felt last week when I looked at my calendar for December. There were few days without at least two obligations. When my schedule is crammed full the first thing I do is make my priority list and start dividing and conquering. The priority this past week was tackling my holiday shopping so that I could enjoy the holiday season (and the reason for my lack of posting.)While I did complete the majority of my shopping by Friday afternoon I ended up putting other things, namely exercise, on the bottom of my list, never a good plan.

I'm a big advocate of learning to acclimate to whatever changes, temporary or otherwise, occur in your life. During the holidays when I'm busier than usual this means that I have to find creative ways to fit workouts in to my hectic week. Wanting to get going first thing in the morning, this week I felt like my best bet was to workout in the evening. Unfortunately, by the time I returned from shopping each day it was time to pick my daughter up from school. Every day it was the same, there was a pantry that needed filling , laundry that need washing, a house that need to be cleaned before dinner could be prepared. By the time there was a break to fit in a workout I was exhausted from a day of constant activity, I would decide to put off working out until the next day. By yesterday morning I'd only managed to work out once. The only thing I wanted to do was sit in a chair with my Christmas mug filled with coffee and watch cheesy holiday movies on The Hallmark Channel. The time off from exercise caused a definite drain to my energy and left my joints feeling stiff, exactly the opposite of what a person needs when they are busier than usual.

What I learned this week was that sometimes when life gets busy it's important to retain habits that are going to increase your energy. Finding time to get in a workout, even if it's an abbreviated session, and insisting on healthy meals instead of reaching for the whatever is most convenient goes a long way in taking the stress out of those crazy periods in life when there is more on your plate than usual. For me, sticking to my normal morning workouts is a must. Eating a healthy breakfast before heading out in the morning and bringing bottled water and a snack with me while running errands could help keep my energy up. If all else fails, maybe I could hire a personal shopper!