Podcast episode 13 is about time management, walking, and their effect on your Health and Well-being.
Incorporating walking into your daily routine is a simple yet effective way to prioritize your health. Regular physical activity, like walking, helps you maintain a healthy weight, improves cardiovascular health, and reduces the risk of chronic diseases such as diabetes and heart disease.
When walking and time management are integrated into your daily routine, you can lead a more productive, balanced, and fulfilling life.
By walking, you can enhance your productivity and efficiency: Time management is a critical skill in today's fast-paced world. It enables you to allocate time effectively to various tasks and responsibilities, thereby improving productivity.
When combined with the physical fitness of walking, it can be a powerful tool for enhancing overall efficiency. Regular walks serve as a break that refreshes the mind, providing a mental reset. This improved mental clarity and focus, resulting from a balanced approach to time management and exercise, can lead to better decision-making and more efficient work.
Time Management and Walking EP. 13 , I discuss:
· How time management and walking go hand in hand
· 5 mindset keys to tie together time management and walking.
· 10 ways you can effectively use time management to get in more walking time.
· How to prepare yourself to get out the door to walk more.
In episode 4 of the Walking for Health and Fitness podcast, I review the 13 benefits of daily walking. Give that a listen after you've completed this podcast.
Proper time management ensures you allocate the necessary time for exercise.
The resulting improvements in your physical well-being can have a cascading effect, leading to a more active, healthy, and fulfilling life.
Time management and walking also play crucial roles in stress management. Properly managing your time can reduce the stress of deadlines and unfinished tasks.
Additionally, exercise, mainly walking, is a natural stress reliever. It triggers the release of endorphins, known as "feel-good" hormones, reducing stress and improving mental well-being.
When integrated, time management and walking can be powerful strategies for maintaining a balanced and stress-free lifestyle.
Time management helps in establishing consistency in your daily routine. When you allocate a specific time for walking, it becomes a habit. This consistency is critical to reaping the long-term benefits of regular exercise.
Over time, walking becomes ingrained in your lifestyle, making it easier to maintain physical fitness and reap the cumulative health benefits.
Also, in episode 4, I went over the five advantages of maintaining consistency when walking and in your everyday activities:
Effective time management is not just about work; it's also about ensuring a balanced life.
When you allocate time for exercise, you prioritize your well-being and strike a balance between your personal and professional life. This balance is essential for overall happiness and life satisfaction.
Listen to Podcast 11: Self-Care Walking and Your Well-being
By managing your time wisely and dedicating part of it to walking and fitness, you're investing in a healthier and more balanced future.
5 Mindset Keys To Time Management
Let's talk about how your mindset plays a crucial role in managing your time effectively. Here are five mindset keys to effective time management that specifically help you make time for exercise:
1. Prioritize Self-Care: Shift your mindset to prioritize self-care, including exercise. Understand that taking care of your physical and mental health is essential for overall well-being. When exercise becomes a non-negotiable part of your self-care routine, you're more likely to make time for it. Remember, self-care is not selfish. I covered self-care in episode 11. How can you care for others if you don't care for yourself?
2. Commit to Consistency: Adopt a mindset of consistency when it comes to exercise. Understand that regular, small efforts add up over time. Even short workouts or brisk walks can be effective when done consistently. Commit to making exercise a regular part of your routine, no matter how busy your life gets.
3. Integrate Exercise into Daily Life: Change your perspective on exercise from being a separate activity to something integrated into your daily life. This means finding opportunities to be active throughout the day, such as taking the stairs instead of the elevator or walking or cycling for short errands.
4. View Exercise as Energy Investment: Consider exercise an investment in your energy and productivity. When you exercise regularly, you're likely to have more energy, better focus, and reduced stress, which can help you manage your time more effectively in other areas of your life.
5. Flexibility and Adaptability: Develop a flexible mindset regarding exercise. Understand that life is unpredictable, and sometimes, your planned workout may need to be adjusted or rescheduled. Instead of giving up when your schedule gets disrupted, find alternative times or forms of exercise that fit your circumstances.
By adopting these mindset keys, you can create a mental framework that makes it easier to prioritize and integrate exercise into your daily life, ultimately improving your overall time management.
10 Tips - Time Management and Walking
Here are ten tips on time management to help you get in more time for walking:
1. Prioritize Walking: Make walking a non-negotiable part of your daily routine by prioritizing it in your schedule.
2. Set Specific Goals: Define clear walking goals, such as the number of steps, distance, or time you want to achieve each day, week, or month. Having specific objectives will motivate you to make time for walking.
3. Time Blocking: Allocate specific time blocks for walking in your daily or weekly schedule, just as you would for work meetings or appointments.
4. Combine Activities: Multitask when possible. For instance, you can take walking meetings, listen to audiobooks or podcasts while walking, or use walking as a break between work tasks. As I mentioned, check out how you can get the first two chapters of my Walking for Health and Fitness book and the audiobook version for free.
• My walking time is my most productive time, but when I say this, please don't think I only work on business-related issues all the time. I usually begin my walks by listening to calming instrumental music. This initial walking time lets me focus, relaxes my mindset, and puts me in a good frame of mind.
• I use this time to practice "idealization." This is my time to think about the very best outcome for my life. I picture the best results in all areas of my life, both personally and professionally.
• Then, I usually switch to listening to an audiobook, podcast, or business development coach. When I hear something valuable, I dictate notes into my notes app and typically develop my best ideas based on what I just heard.
• If I have a problem to solve. I dictate the issue at the top of a new page in the notes app, then walk and not even think about it. Generally, my mind will naturally drift to the problem by the end of the walk, and some possible solutions begin to peek through. It's usually right at the end of my walk within a half mile of my house that I hit upon the idea for the solution. It's incredible how often this has worked out for me. If you've never tried it, do so on your next walk.
• So often, I'll get home, sit at my computer, and have to look at my notes because when I'm sitting, the ideas don't come out so quickly. In fact, I often can't remember the great idea I had, but Luckily, by taking notes while walking, I have them handy and can give them a thorough evaluation.
On a final note about combining activities, you can also do fitness exercises while walking.
5. Morning Routine: Incorporate walking into your morning routine. A brisk walk in the morning can boost your energy and set a positive tone for the day.
6. Lunchtime Walks: Use your lunch break as an opportunity for a quick walk. It's a great way to refresh your mind, burn calories, and get some exercise during the workday.
7. Technology Help: Use fitness apps or wearable devices to track your steps and set reminders for walking breaks.
8. Eliminate Time Wasters: Identify and reduce activities that consume your time unnecessarily, such as excessive TV or social media use. Redirect that time toward walking.
9. Accountability: Share your walking goals with a friend or family member who can help hold you accountable and even join you for walks.
Watch: An Accountability Action Plan to Walk Your Way to Health and Fitness
10. Batch Tasks: Group similar tasks together to free up blocks of time for walking. For example, you can batch your errands or administrative work.
By applying these time management strategies, you can create more opportunities in your schedule to prioritize and enjoy regular walks, ultimately improving your health and well-being.
Getting Out the Door: 5 Ways to Do It Quickly
Lastly, here are five tips to help you prepare to get out the door to walk.
1. Plan Your Workout: Decide in advance where you plan to walk. Have a list of go-to walking routines ready to quickly decide where you will walk. Having a clear plan will make it easier to get started
2. Gather Your Gear: Lay out all the necessary workout gear and clothing the night before. This includes workout clothes, shoes, a water bottle, headphones, and other equipment.
3. Check the Weather: If you're exercising outdoors, check the weather forecast. Knowing the conditions will help you dress appropriately and mentally prepare for the workout.
4. Set a Time: Schedule a specific time for your workout in your daily or weekly calendar. Treat it like an appointment you can't miss.
5. Motivation and Mindset: Take a moment to prepare and motivate yourself mentally. Remind yourself of the benefits of exercise, set your intentions, and visualize a successful workout to get yourself in the right mindset.
Check out my book Walking Inspiration-A 12-month Plan to Inspire Your Health and Fitness
By following these steps, you'll set up more time to walk, be well-prepared, and be motivated to get out and exercise, thereby making it easier to stick to your fitness routine.
I started the Walking for Health and Fitness podcast with 10 Quick Steps to Take Before Your Next Walk. Check that out after you've listened to this episode for more great walking prep tips.
If you don't have the time to do it right, how will you have time to do it over?
Walk on,
Frank S. Ring
Author: Walking for Health and Fitness, Fitness Walking and Bodyweight Exercises, Walking Inspiration, and Walking Logbook Journal.
