Time Management: Sports Play a Role in Life Success

04/02/2011 corewrestling Leave a comment Go to comments

This week I want to talk about time management, priorities, and life balance as I find myself in a predicament involving my health and fitness and finding the time/motivation to do what I need to do.  Over the last month, I’ve really had the excuses start to pile up.   First, I have an injury which affects my abdominals and limits my ability to exercise, then I found my two free mornings of my work week get consumed with work, I have a wedding getting closer by the second, and I need time to just relax, right?  These excuses are all legitimate, but the problem is, I can’t let them stand in the way of my personal health

and fitness.  One of the toughest things I find I have to get across to my clients and something I now have to remind myself is that these are all just excuses, and that’s all they are…excuses, and you know what they say about excuses, right?
Anyway,  what I need to do is make exercise a higher priority and it will happen, but the problem is that it’s just easier to give in to the excuses rather than try to come up with a creative solution to get everything done.  Now I know there are some out there reading who are saying to themselves, “Yeah, but my situation is different, I really don’t have any time to exercise!”  My answer to you is….”That’s BS”…If you really boil it down, it’s actually a matter of exercise not being “worth it” to you rather than a lack of time.  As an example, I’m going to have an argument with myself so you can see what I’m talking about.

• (Me – the Whiner):  ”I just don’t have any time to exercise right now”
• (Me – the Trainer): “Well why not?”
• (Whiner): “Work is too busy, I’m injured, and I spend all weekend working on getting ready for a wedding”
• (Trainer): “So you don’t have any free time? You don’t watch any television? Or anything?”
• (Whiner):  ”Well I do, but it’s at the end of a long day, and I don’t have the energy to exercise, plus you’re always telling me to recover and that sleep is important”
• (Trainer): “Ok, so you could work out at this time, but it’s just not worth it to you because you’re tired and want to relax”
• (Whiner): “I guess, but it’s after 9 PM anyway and if I work out that late, I won’t be able to fall asleep”
• (Trainer): “What time do you go to sleep? And how much sleep do you get?”
• (Whiner):  ”I usually go to sleep around 11:00 PM and get around 7 hours of sleep, but I feel like my body needs more, so I don’t want to sacrifice sleep”
• (Trainer): “Fair enough, do you get a lunch break?”
• (Whiner): “I do, but I just need to relax during this time and recharge for the rest of the day”
• (Trainer): “So what do you do with this time?”
• (Whiner): “I usually eat and talk with co-workers, or sometimes I just work through the break while I eat”
• (Trainer): “Eating is important, but the rest of the time could be used to get a workout in.  Exercise is probably a better stress reliever and will energize you more for the rest of the work day that sitting and talking, plus, do you have to work through your break?”
• (Whiner): “Well no, I don’t have to work through my break, but I have to get things done, and won’t be able to get them done otherwise.”
• (Trainer): “So what you’re telling me is that you are placing work as a higher priority than your own wellness and that making the time to workout just isn’t worth it to you.  Chances are you could probably find some way to be more efficient and get things done even if you took 30 minutes of your lunch break to exercise”
• (Whiner): “Well I guess, but I don’t really want to get all sweaty anyway, plus I still have this injury to deal with”
• (Trainer): “Well you can still walk right, and you have stretches and small strengthening exercises you’re supposed to do to help deal with your injury right?  Can’t this be your workout for now?”
• (Whiner):  ”I suppose you’re right, I could make time if I really wanted to, It’s just not very convenient for me right now”
• (Trainer):  ”The first step is to develop a plan, set aside some time on a regular basis and stick to it…schedule other things around this time at all costs”

The problem with this dialogue is that “Me-the Whiner” almost never comes to the conclusion this easily where the blame really lies, and the excuses just keep coming, and “Me-the Trainer” has to constantly show them that there are other options.  The bottom line is that if you really want it, you can make it happen.  It all comes down to priorities, time management, and keeping a healthy life balance.
Here are some truths:

1. Everyone is busy – in today’s world it’s impossible not to be.  Even if you aren’t busy things will fill your time and you will feel busy.
2. Everyone thinks they are an exception – “Yeah, but if you had my life, you wouldn’t be able to exercise” – you’re not an exception
3. There will never be a perfect time for exercise, so stop waiting for it and make the time

One of the reasons I bring this all up is that I feel that athletics play a large role in helping to develop the ability to set priorities, manage time and keep a balance.  I will talk more about this next week when I talk about how the sport of wrestling has taught me to better deal with managing a healthy lifestyle.