You plan to work out in the morning, but when your loud alarm goes off at 5:30 am after a terrible night’s sleep, you snooze right through it. You rush to work to find your day jam-packed full of meetings, assignments, urgent emails and projects that are due ASAP. You leave work late and head home exhausted, throw together a meal to eat, end up eating at 8:30 pm, and then pass out on the couch, ready to watch mindless TV to relax after a trying day.
Sound familiar?
I know I’m not the only one with days like this. I think anyone with a full-time job struggles with finding time to get some exercise in. How do you fit in a workout on days like this?
Take a walk. Even when you are up to your elbows in work, you can always afford to take five minutes and get some fresh air.
But my day is busy and there’s no time!
Schedule it. This sounds a little silly, but when there are days that I know are going to be crazy, I will schedule a walk on my calendar so that I can fit in at least five minutes of fresh air.
More benefits for a quick saunter in the middle of the day…
You get the chance to multitask. One of my favorite things about walking is the chance to multitask and get stuff done. I will listen to podcasts or audio books, catch up with a friend, make phone calls or schedule appointments, or use that time to pray. So often I complain I have no time for these things, but you would be amazed how much you can cram into a 20-minute walk.
Get some vitamin D! There are some days, especially in the dead of the winter, when I get to work in the dark and leave in the dark, never seeing the sun. On days like that, a girl needs some Vitamin D!
It’s sweat-free. One of my biggest complaints about a hard workout is the inconvenience on your clothes and hair. I hate getting sweaty and sometimes I avoid workouts because it seems too much energy to get out of my clothes and into a workout outfit (as silly as that sounds). With walking, you usually don’t have that problem. Unless it’s 90-degrees outside, I can go for a 30-minute walk in my work outfit and not feel disgusting afterwards. If I happen to wear heels that day, I will bring more comfortable shoes for a walk. (Although, I do keep deodorant in my drawer, just in case…)
Helps your digestive system. A quick walk after lunch is a great way to digest your food, especially if you’ve devoured your lunch really quickly, which I have the bad habit of doing.
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What about you? Do you enjoy taking a walk during the day? How do you fit in some exercise in the middle of a crazy, busy day?
I agree. The benefits of a simple walk should never be undermined. I love walking.
Totally agree – walking is great for calming down and clearing your head.
definitely need to practice this; I spend way too much time sitting at a desk all day!
I walk to and from work, so that’s 40 minutes a day.
I often used to run errands over my lunch hour, but honestly, I’m lucky to get out once a week at lunch these days.
i’ve been trying to walk more while at work…there’s a meeting i have to go too which is close to our office and each week i try to walk…it does make a difference!
Very helpful information. Thank you for sharing. This will be definitely be on my To Do List ;)
Hi,
I just want to say how much I’ve loved reading your blog. Its got such a nice positive vibe and the pictures are always fab! I’m new to this blogging thing myself but I’m enjoying seeing how everyone is doing with their debt reduction, emergency building etc and I’m getting on board to keep myself accountable. Looking forward to hearing more about your life in the future,
Mrs Darcy
I meant to say I was adding you to my blogroll for future uplifting updates : – )