Nutrition by Dawn - Blog

Our lives tend to get really busy during this time of year. Our kids are going back to school, our jobs start to set up any final projects before the end of the year, and the holidays creep up on us before we know it. Unfortunately, often when things get busy, the very first thing we do to shorten our to-do lists is skip the time we set apart for ourselves.

Believe me, I get it. Occasionally things come up and our days fill up so quickly that there truly isn’t time for the self-care we had planned. But if you’re finding that something comes up each time you plan a workout or a walk or even some relaxation time, you may need to take a step back and evaluate. Is there really always a valid reason to cross off that time for yourself, or is it an issue with mindset?

I recently had one of those days that was just filled to the brim. My car needed to be serviced and my kiddo needed to be chauffeured, and my initial reaction when I looked at my schedule was that it might not be possible for me to go on my daily walk. My goal for myself is 8,000 steps each day, so I always go on at least one or two daily walks, but looking at my schedule for the day, it just didn’t seem possible. 

After that fleeting moment of thinking I couldn’t squeeze it in, I reminded myself that that isn’t how I do things. Giving up the things that are important to me isn’t how I live my life, and walking each and every day is important to me. It’s important to my health and my sanity, and I keep that promise to myself to get out for a walk no matter what. 

I grabbed my phone and walked out of the house before I had any more time to talk myself out of it. Along the way, I checked emails and completed my weekly Facebook Live. It was certainly NOT my ideal way to spend my walk, but by compromising, I was able to keep my commitments to myself and still stay on schedule. 

What would you have done in this situation? The easy choice would have been to forego the walk for the day to stay in and check things off my to-do list. The right choice for me, however, was definitely to stick with my promise to myself to get in my walk, and I’m so thankful that I did. 

Sometimes, there’s really very little we can do to rearrange life, and we truly do have to table our full plan for self-care or workout time. But our mindset truly does play such an important part in determining what we accomplish, and if something is truly important to you, there’s almost always a way to get it done. Even if you just take two minutes to close your eyes and breathe, I promise you, it will be worth it.

If you need support, a guide, or a creative idea on scheduling time for yourself, drop a comment below! My mantra is if there’s a will, there’s a way, and I would love to help you figure out how you can make time for yourself, even if your schedule is hectic. 

And if you need some inspiration for healthy living, please join me in my Facebook group Never Diet Again for a great community filled with great discussion!