Why Busy Is The Best Time

If you’re like me, you are deep into holiday mode. From the Severna Park tree lighting and peppermint lattes to family and friend gatherings, it can be a wonderful time of year.

It can also be a busy time of year. The holiday season can be filled with what seems like nightly party invites, regular shopping and more. It is tough to imagine putting anything additional on your calendar.

But that might be exactly why you should add more to your to-do list, at least when it comes to taking care of yourself. Kindly allow me to explain.

Many of us tend to not only put ourselves last on our list of importance, but we often use how busy we are as our reason to do so. And it’s a valid reason.

There’s just one main challenge that can be summed up in a tough-love question to ask ourselves: “Do you believe that you will never be busy again for the rest of your life?”

Sounds like a strange question. Let’s back up a second.

A common, as well as understandable, challenge to people starting a health and fitness routine is that they are too busy.

Conventional wisdom tells us that if we wait for a time when we are not busy and when it’s more convenient, we will likely have better success. This might be the case for some people, and we respect that.

It’s also possible that if being busy is the reason or excuse for not doing something, then could we assume that if we get busy again in the future, we will stop?

It follows along with the idea that there is no perfect time for many things. And sometimes we must just do the thing. And when it comes to your health, wellness and longevity, there may not be a more important act of self-care than working on your fitness.

Often when we are talking with someone about being too busy to invest in their own health, we ask a few questions. And we find these questions can be quite helpful with many things related to being busy.

A few of these questions are:

Do you want this success you’re chasing to be long-term? Often the answer here is yes. Whether it’s about long-term health, financial well-being or even tidying our desk, we want the changes we make to last.

Do you believe that you will never be busy again for the rest of your life? Obviously, the answer here is no. I don’t think anyone believes they will never get busy again. So, it’s probably safe to assume that working around busy times is something that will persist throughout our lives.

Do you think support will be helpful? And often here the answer is yes. Setting up a system, routine and support network to help one succeed when busy makes the most sense.

This leads us to believe that we might as well start when we are busy so we have the most support possible.

Because if we learn how to do this when we are busy, then when it gets less busy, we should succeed even more. And when things get hectic again, we’ll know how to do it because that's how we started — making it work while we are busy.

As someone who has coached and trained hundreds of people as a personal trainer over 24 years, being too busy is the No. 1 reason people tell me they don’t pursue a health and fitness routine.

Unfortunately, many don’t start the moment things get less busy.

It might be safe to say that a detriment to our own health and wellness is not learning how to work on, and improve, our health and fitness while we are busy.

Believe it or not, this is excellent news. These ideas are lifelong hacks that we use regularly to help ensure we can do the things that are important while life is “getting in the way.”

We have also found that it helps to be fully invested with this new endeavor, and choosing a supportive environment that promotes success can be a gamechanger.

Additionally, something we talk about often in our gym is setting yourself up for overall success with accountability buddies, habits and regular goal setting. Putting these things in place can make or break your success.

So, the next time you think to yourself, “I’m simply too busy to do this,” perhaps entertain the thought, “Could this be the best time to start?”

Now, back to all that holiday shopping and the parties that are filling up your schedule. Merry Christmas and happy holidays!