Your most valuable asset is your physical and mental health. Yet in a busy working life, neglecting your personal fitness is easy. This can lead to immense health issues down the line. Globally, one in four adults doesn’t achieve the recommended levels of physical activity, according to theWorld Health Organization, while more than 80 percent of the world’s adolescent population is insufficiently active.
Although the statistics are frightening, it doesn’t have to be that way. You can make time for this vital element in your overall well-being with a little care. Here’s how to use tech to ensure you don’t neglect your fitness goals in your busy working life.
1. Use a Scheduling App or Tool to Ensure You Don’t Miss a Workout
The first step is to schedule time in your calendar for your workout. Just as you wouldn’t miss that vital work meeting or deadline, you shouldn’t neglect your exercise time. Enter it into your device’s calendar, block out that time window so you can’t add anything else, and treat it as a “must-do” activity.
Then, allow your phone, smartwatch, or tablet to alert you when it’s time for your workout. You can use one of theseapps to provide handy notifications to remind you to get up and move.
2. Avoid Distractions During Your Workout Time
Once you’ve committed your precious time to your chosen exercise activity, the next step is to ensure nothing can disturb you. It’s all too easy to take a call or read a message, and before you know it, your mind is elsewhere, and you’re not paying full attention to your workout.
Your device has help already built in. If you’re an Android user, here’show to set up and customize Do Not Disturb on your Android device. Apple users should learnhow to create a fitness focus on their iPhones.
As focus modes are customizable, you can manage who can still contact you in an emergency at these times. They can even be configured to turn on automatically whenever you start an Apple Watch workout.
3. Set Yourself Realistic Fitness Goals Regularly
You might be familiar with SMART targets from your workplace. SMART is short for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound goals. These factors can apply equally to your fitness goals.
TheWHOrecommends that adults aged 18 to 64 do at least 150 to 300 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity. If you break this down into a six-day week to allow for one day’s break each week, it still means spending just 25 minutes on exercise each day.
This seems like a realistic fitness goal. And because realistic goals always seem more attainable, you’ll be more motivated to achieve them. Therefore, set a SMART fitness goal that you know will challenge you, but that you can realistically achieve in the time you have available. Then you’ll be able to work towards it more happily. Here’show to set and reach your SMART fitness goals.
4. Use a Fitness Tracker
You’re much more likely to achieve your fitness goals if you measure your progress. You could use anactivity tracker appsuch as Strava or Pedometer++ on your smartphone or the built-in tools on your device, such as Apple’s Fitness app.
However, it’s worth investing in a fitness tracker or a smartwatch for a more detailed and accurate analysis of your progress. Whether you choose an Apple Watch, a Fitbit, or any other brand, you’ll have a better idea of how you’re progressing towards your fitness goals. A wearable will also measure your activity throughout your working day so that you’re more aware of the need to move and stay active even when you’re busy in the workplace. Here’show to make the most of your fitness tracker.
5. Use Apps That Will Encourage You to Work Out Given Any Opportunity
Every bit of activity helps, so don’t just wait for your official exercise time. Build opportunities for movement into your working day wherever you’re able to, especially if you’re desk-bound for long periods.
Use apps such asthe Wakeout appto provide a short, fun activity break. And think abouthow technology can help you do an effective lunch break workout.
6. Find an Accountability Partner to Keep You on Track
One surefire way to ensure you find time to achieve your fitness goals, no matter how busy you are, is to hold yourself accountable to someone else. It’s way harder to skip your workout if you’re letting a partner, friend, or colleague down. It’s also more fun to share your exercise with others, participating in competitions or setting and completing challenges.
Social fitness appslike Nike Run Club are a great way to stay accountable to your friends, allowing you to encourage or compete with others to meet your goals. As well as allowing you to challenge the people around you, you can join in global challenges.
7. Use Apps to Help You Prioritize Stress Management as Well as Physical Health
Make sure your busy working life doesn’t overreach into your leisure time, as stress can affect your enthusiasm for pursuing other interests, including exercise.
Build time in for relaxation and mindfulness to allow you to decompress from your busy schedule. Many people turn to mindful movement activities to incorporate stress management with exercise.Yoga apps such as Asana Rebeloffer guided routines to help relieve stress.
Use mindful meditation to manage your stress as well. The comprehensivemeditation app Calmcontains a whole catalog of themed meditation programs you can choose from to ensure you get the most from your session.
If everything seems overwhelming, and you may’t imagine being able to fit exercise goals into your busy life, perhaps it’s time to look at your workload and find ways to manage it more effectively. Certainly, the distinction between work and home is becoming increasingly blurred in our modern working lives. This wreaks havoc with work-life balance. Consider thesestrategies to balance your hybrid work schedule if that sounds familiar.
Technology can help streamline and automate many of the processes that take up your valuable time at work and home, hopefully leaving you with a little time each day to devote to your fitness.
Use Tech to Help You Find Ways to Build Fitness Into Your Busy Work Schedule
If you don’t make time for exercise, you simply store up health issues for the future. It’s far wiser to prioritize mind and body now than to regret it later.
If used unwisely, technology can become the enemy of free time, swallowing up precious minutes and hours scrolling through social media. Used well, though, it can actually free up time, allowing you to fit that extra bit of exercise into your day. Not only that, it provides tools and tuition to make the process easier and more fun.
