Part of getting to know our body and mind is the understanding of why we procrastinate and how to help our self overcome it.
My truth is; I find comfort in procrastination, even though I’m swamped, I have plenty of time to avoid what needs to be done because everything seems urgent and I can’t decide what to do first!
Getting regular exercise was perhaps my greatest challenge and creating work based deadlines finally motivated me to exercise and get my work done too!
Understanding Procrastination
Navigating the “see” between intention and action is complex. A recent study (2018) at Bielefeld University (Germany) psychologists tested undergraduates for the tendency to procrastinate.
If you have ever been a student, then you may understand that for many of us, our dilatory behavior is part of the struggle of learning.
The findings from the Bielefeld research gave me hope because it showed that chronic procrastinators weren’t lazy and undisciplined, but rather creative visionaries (…I’m probably exaggerating!)
All procrastinators are not the same, and there are some of us that value well-being as part of our humanitarian-egalitarian system of living a whole life.
However, I have found that we procrastinators have some learning difficulty with time management and addressing this issue can help us live a balanced life.
Prioritizing exercise doesn’t work
Getting tough on too busy for exercise isn’t about “prioritizing” personal health.
I’ll go on a rant now, because the advice I always got from my personal trainers was that I didn’t value my health enough to make exercise happen – what a load of hogwash!
Exercise didn’t happen because I couldn’t schedule it into my already out of control day. Running a business, a household, having children and finding time to exercise was overwhelming.
My reaction was to drop the only thing (exercise) I felt was within my control and therefore make time for what I had to do – urgently.
Unfortunately….. having made the decision not to exercise, my time would soon be swallowed up by procrastinating over the enormous amount of work I had to do….
In the end, I learned that I wasn’t too busy to exercise, but instead, I felt that given the external demands on my time, I was lost as to how to manage it productively.
How to manage procrastination with exercise
PLEASE HANG ON!! Before you stop reading because I mentioned the “E” word – hear me out.
When we have deadlines in our lives no matter what they are, we don’t have time to procrastinate! Why not then create urgency by shortening the time we have to procrastinate.
By scheduling exercise first thing in the morning no matter how busy our day, will force us into finding creative ways to get important stuff done.
Exercise is one of those essential things that we should do but we know we don’t have to do it right now, and it can be moved to a day that never comes.
The trick I used to get me to exercise regularly was/is that before I start my work, I make sure that I do at least 9 minutes of exercise. Then, if I have time, I’ll do more exercise later.
9 minutes of daily exercise doesn’t sound like a lot, but with the right exercises in the correct order, you can improve your fitness significantly more, than having done none.
Scheduling exercise right before a deadline means you won’t be distracted by having to find an excuse for not exercising.
You can then tackle your deadlines with the freedom of thought and the energy that comes with physical fitness.
Give it a go, the worst thing that can happen is that you get fit without having to go to the gym!
For more information on our 9 minute program and to download your FREE workout click on the link below:
9 Minutes to Fitness
Live well with fitness!
Anna
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