When you are extremely busy and struggling to find time for exercising, plan precisely, fit gym sessions in and time will come around and find you, however ridiculous it may sound at first. Let me explain how to hack the theory of finding time for exercise and you can thank me later.

First of all, nobody is as busy as they say they are. I am not trying to call you a liar or question your actual work load, but I am asking you to be completely honest with yourself when planning your time. The fact is, that human beings are not robots or machines that can have unlimited physical or mental capability without breaking down psychologically. That’s why people do have weekends, days off, holidays and just free evenings after busy days at work or university.

Now, it is up to you how you use your free time. Even though, I just said, that people are not capable of working or functioning 24/7 without breaks, I will contradict myself. Once again, because we are humans, not machines, even after a busy day at work, our brains crave for more information. That is why we watch movies, read, communicate and engage in heated debates with others, we don’t just simply crash even though we feel tired.  This is just my simplified theory of how most people, including me, live. Of course we all have hobbies, post uni projects, ambitions and other great time consuming goals which are ‘a must have’ in our lives and we shouldn’t, under any circumstances, sacrifice them in order to get fit.  However, the gym is the place where people learn to not to waste their precious time.

To start with, if you actually feel like burning out and breaking down, because university work or a stressful job is eating you alive, you need to stop and throw out all the unnecessary habits that make you even more stressed and unmotivated.  When people say they are busy and stressed, they count in all the ‘time rubbish’ they use throughout their day, which basically means that they forget how much time they spend online, checking facebook, twitter, instagram. It might not seem like a lot, but remember how many ‘facebook breaks’ did you actually have while writing that essay? If you are really honest, you should have at least an hour spare. It’s nothing new, we all suffer from procrastinating  but it’s not just that.

A second massive time wasting mistake is spending too much time watching films, shows, even documentaries. Yes, I agree that we learn from content we watch, but what I don’t agree is that most of us imagine this as a primary relaxing option after a stressful day. I am guilty of this too, who doesn’t like just to sink in bed or sofa after a busy 8 hour day. People love watching stuff in their free time or when they feel tired, because this seems like the best option to rest – you just sit down, get a snack and relax. However, we forget that no matter how entertaining the programme we watch is, our brains continue to process information we receive. So even though you have worked all day and now you are having a blast laughing at cats videos online, watching a documentary or some crap series you are not really having a break from the environment you live in every day.

The solution I have in my mind of course is going to the gym, because only there I learned that when you have no time for the gym, you have to make it and eventually you get it back, sometimes double the amount. The secret is, you have to be harsh on yourself for a month. No matter how much you hate the routine and planning, that is exactly what you have to do for a month.  When you have literally zero time for yourself, sit down and think again. Get rid of pointless coffee breaks, facebook breaks, chatting and complaining to mum breaks. If you smoke and feel like badass, quit smoking. That might seem like already a  good idea but you have to go further. Stop watching your favourite shows, just for a month. Next time, when that’s the only doable action you can think of after a hectic day, think again and join a gym. If you are working night shifts or any other crazy hours, stop whining, 24/7 gyms do exist.

By recycling your time and swapping bad habits for a new, positive one, going to the gym you may wonder how an hour exercising will help give you more time. The secret in any kind of exercise is that we are actually having a type of break while doing physical work. Whatever bugs you during a day, is left behind while you jog, lift or even going for a walk in the fresh air. Of course, we still think about our problems and work load as we can’t always switch off completely. What we can definitely do, is give our best when we work out in order to make ourselves better.  Eventually everybody learns to stop thinking other than their technique. As we work out, we also boost our energy levels, because our bodies get into a ‘beast mode’. Even though, after a good workout you may feel like going straight to bed, wait until you come back home and have a dinner. Suddenly, ‘only bed now’ turns into ‘I should watch that episode today’ mood.

Everything in life is about moderation. There is no need to get rid of your favourite relaxing routines for good, and only concentrate on getting ripped.  But teaching yourself discipline and positive habits through workouts daily  is the best you can do when feeling extremely busy. So next time when you say ‘I’m too busy’ think again, are you really that busy?

-Justina