Do you ever feel like you live in a circus and juggling is your forte? Juggling work, family time, household chores, running errands, taking care of other people’s needs, feeding the pets and daily exhaustion. Phew!

Juggling is hard and the idea of adding another ball labeled exercise can seem daunting.

We hear everywhere how self-care and exercise are important to being healthy and balanced. But even with the proven health benefits including lower stress levels, increase levels of happiness, stronger bones and muscles, and decreased risk of chronic illness (Healthline, 2023), it is still challenging to include exercise into our daily routines. I understand! Years before coming to IT Motives in my 20’s, I worked in the fitness industry. It was easy to exercise then because I was in the gym literally all day long. Nowadays, like a lot of you, I work in front of a computer and have many circus balls in the air. Even though it is challenging to incorporate yet another activity into your day, it is all worth it, YOU are worth it!

This article will give you a few ideas on how you can incorporate fitness into your world and, in doing so, increase your overall happiness and energy level.

  • Tell your boss/supervisor that you intend to make health a priority. Exercise increases productivity, lowers stress levels, minimizes major illness which reduces sick time, and makes for happy employees (Gitnux, 2023). A good employer will support and encourage you to be healthy and take time to exercise. Shout out to Tony Seminary at IT Motives for supporting your team so well in our fitness goals!
  • Schedule time in your day for exercise and block it off on your calendar. Take the Harvard Business Review’s advice, “Regular exercise is part of your job (HBR 2014).”
  • If you don’t have time for long periods of exercise, set an alert each hour to do five minutes of some type of exercise (walking in place, dancing OR vary it up with 1 minute of jumping jacks, 1 minute of crunches, 1 minute walking in place, 1 minute of push-ups, 1 minute of wall sits, etc.)
    Elicit the support of a reliable workout buddy or friend and keep each other motivated. Key word: Reliable.
  • Create a fun wellness challenge at your job to encourage fitness participation. IT Motives creates at least one optional wellness challenge a year. If you need ideas, feel free to reach out!
  • Set a goal and reward yourself when you achieve it. Reward ideas include massages, a new hairstyle or outfit, or a new tech toy. Avoid indulging too much with food/beverage rewards as this can undo all the hard work you have achieved.
  • Utilize technology for great at-home workouts. YouTube has dozens and dozens of fitness videos ranging in length and activity. Apps such as Home Workout and Fitbod can also be useful in keeping you on track.
  • Set up a workstation on your treadmill. Many people swear by this multi-tasking technique of working out while you work. My colleague Jackie Newgard walks miles daily with this clever life hack.Include your family/pets and go for a walk, bike ride or play ball in the yard.
  • We can’t stop juggling and we can’t create more time. But by adding regular exercise to the equation, we can juggle more efficiently, minimize issues with our bodies, and be happier overall.

SOURCES:
Healthline, Feb. 2023
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/10-benefits-of-exercise
Harvard Business Review, 2014
https://hbr.org/2014/10/regular-exercise-is-part-of-your-job
Mayo Clinic, 2021
https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/fitness/in-depth/exercise/art-20048389
Gitnux blog, May 2023
https://blog.gitnux.com/exercise-and-work-productivity-statistics/#:~:text=Employees%20who%20exercise%20regularly%20are%2013%25%20more%20productive,that%20regular%20exercise%20can%20have%20on%20workplace%20productivity