How to Make Time and Enjoy Healthy Living- 5 Steps

On the way to healthy living

If you want more time than you have already, then this is the first place to stop!

• Start imagining your life- if you could get rid of stress and those feelings of failure.
• Start dreaming how you might spend that extra time if you had it. Maybe you would lie on the beach with a book and good company or you might be one to enjoy more entertaining with friends and family. You would have more time to prepare meals for healthy living with lovely fresh items.

How many of us have regretted all too late, not having spent enough time with our family and friends? Before we know it our children have grown, left home and we realise that we hardly know them. Our spouses have built up their own network of friends without us or we may never have had the time to sustain a relationship in the first place.

This isn't how it's meant to be! Of course times are hard, but I hope that together we can help each other to find ways of living life in a way that we can stop and enjoy it. Young children can teach us much in this area. They are rarely in a hurry (often much to our frustration) and will ponder and explore their way to their destination. How sad when this inquisitive and interested side of our nature gets lost in the battle of life.

Come with me on a short journey to find it again. It won't take long, but the time you spend doing so could be a valuable investment to get rid of stress, enjoy healthy living and achieve your life-long ambitions. You owe it to yourself and those around you, who will undoubtedly benefit!

Be pro-active for healthy living

Plan each day, using a clear calendar. I use the calendar on my mobile as it reminds me ahead of time what I need to do, which is really helpful.

Planning for me includes appointments, jobs, tasks, social activities and menus.

Try to space out activities so that you have enough time in-between for breaks (yes, these are important). Put the most important things first. This is something that is worth thinking about, for sometimes it might be necessary to leave out things of lesser importance if there is not enough time or adding them into the following weeks' plan. Be realistic. You will get the hang of estimating this correctly with practice and will learn how much you can do each day. We can all accomplish different amounts of activities, so don't be tempted to compare yourself with others. If you follow these steps, you will be well on the way to finding more time and energy than you thought you had!

I like, where possible to plan my week ahead on Sundays, this includes the week's menus and shopping list, so that I only need to shop for groceries once a week, saving time and money! This is also when I look for any gaps in my schedule and phone friends for any social activities.

Create a calm and peaceful home for healthy living.

Clutter is an intrusion. Without it your mind will be freer to give time to the important things in your life. Learn to keep things in their proper place by picking them up and taking them to their place as you go and every new season take a bag of unwanted items to your local charity shop. Label draws and cupboards to make a start and help everyone along in putting their things away. Keep table and kitchen tops as free as possible. Save time by not having to wade through clutter to find things!

De-Clutter Your Mind

Get into a routine of giving yourself time when you first awake to gently harness your mind in preparation for the day ahead.

Likewise, before sleeping at night, take a few moments to let go of the cares of the day that can wait until the morrow. If necessary, make a list of these things that you can do the next day and then try to forget it. Unwind by reading a light book or thinking of all the things you should be thankful for.

Here are some tips to do this;

1. Plan a week's menu and then do one shopping trip for groceries each week. Learn to do without where possible until the next shop.
2. Keep your mobile in it's place in the house or office, not on your person, so you are not tempted to keep looking at it and everyone else knows that they may not get an instant response.
3. Only play computer games when you have completed your planned tasks for the day and set the alarm to remind you when you should move on.
4. Keep phone conversations to a time limit. It's surprising how time can so quickly go by when you are not aware.
5. Get your family bikes and remind everyone of the huge benefits of cycling and walking, rather than going everywhere in the car, wherever possible.

Regulate your healthy living

Recognise when you are going through an unusually demanding time, such as the birth of a baby, the start of a new job or the death of a loved one and try to cut back some of your less important activities for a time until life levels out again. For instance, most parents will find that they have less time whilst their children are young, but later on they will be able to find more time for their hobbies and new projects. During some of the seasons you might need more vitamins to see you through a difficult time.