5 ways to make more time for your health
Try these tips to make more time for fitness and nutrition and make your health a priority
By Dana Sullivan
Practice the art of delegation
"There is no rule that says you have to do it all," says Esther Sternberg, MD, a physician and medical researcher studying women's health. Your spouse, your kids, and even your employer have every interest in helping you stay healthy, she notes, so enlist them in helping you make the best use of your time‚ and don't feel guilty about it.
If handing over certain responsibilities doesn't work at first, stick with it. "Initially it can take more time to delegate than to do the task yourself," admits Peggy Duncan, an organizational consultant and author of The Time Management Memory Jogger. "But if you invest a little time to teach others at home and at work how to complete tasks, and then hold them accountable, the jobs will get done." You might be frustrated if your husband doesn't fold the laundry exactly the way you do, or if your children put the forks on the right of the plate when they set the table, but remember: The trade-off is a valuable 10 or 20 minutes of time you can devote to yourself. What's more, "Including children in the responsibility of running the household can make them feel more grown-up," says Sternberg.
How do you get your husband and kids on board? Write up a list of the household chores for which each person is responsible, and put it on the fridge. Be sure to include your own tasks‚ all the ones you already do. Since your list will probably be the longest, no one else will have a leg to stand on if they decide to complain about being asked to pitch in.
If handing over certain responsibilities doesn't work at first, stick with it. "Initially it can take more time to delegate than to do the task yourself," admits Peggy Duncan, an organizational consultant and author of The Time Management Memory Jogger. "But if you invest a little time to teach others at home and at work how to complete tasks, and then hold them accountable, the jobs will get done." You might be frustrated if your husband doesn't fold the laundry exactly the way you do, or if your children put the forks on the right of the plate when they set the table, but remember: The trade-off is a valuable 10 or 20 minutes of time you can devote to yourself. What's more, "Including children in the responsibility of running the household can make them feel more grown-up," says Sternberg.
How do you get your husband and kids on board? Write up a list of the household chores for which each person is responsible, and put it on the fridge. Be sure to include your own tasks‚ all the ones you already do. Since your list will probably be the longest, no one else will have a leg to stand on if they decide to complain about being asked to pitch in.
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