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Be your own personal trainer with
the Trainer To Go Mastery Package!

By Mary Pearsall
Co-Creator of Trainer To Go

It's the New Year. Once again you have decided to make your health a priority in your life. Maybe you lack the energy to get through the day without requiring some kind of pick-me-up. Or your doctor has told you that your cholesterol is reaching the danger zone. Are your pants just a little too snug to make it comfortably through the day? Whatever the reason you have decided 2006 is the year once and for all. There is only one problem - what about all the other priorities in your life?

This is a common and very realistic problem that most business people face. Our lives are so busy with meetings and deadlines and committees that, sadly, healthy habits often get placed last on the to-do list. When we decide to make health a priority, we usually have to change our whole way of life, including our priorities and our attitudes. It sounds like a formidable task, but it is not impossible, and just like anything else worth accomplishing, it just takes some thought and planning.

The first step to changing your priorities is to assess you existing ones. (See “Priority Planner” at the end of this piece). If you have no personal time to begin with, you may resent your fitness program before you even start it. If your family and friends are currently feeling neglected, adding more to your schedule may cause further problems.

After you have assessed your out-of-balance areas and determined ways to correct them, your healthy new habits will have a much better chance of surviving. And so will you.

It's Not All or Nothing
Perfectionism is a very common pitfall for over-achieving, driven business people. They believe if only they work hard enough, they can find that “perfect balance” in their new lifestyle. But balance is not permanent and certainly isn't ever going to be perfect. Living a balanced life is like skiing, skating or riding a bike. Sometimes you fall head over heels in the snow, hit a bump or sharp curve in the road. That's part of life. You just get back up and try again.

So how can you balance your new healthy habits with everything else that is going on in your life? How can you keep it a top priority without making it just another obligation that you resent or check off your to-do list?

Write Things Down
Write your daily, weekly and monthly goals in your journal, day timer or computer organizer. Schedule all your priorities: fitness time, grocery shopping and meal preparation time, relaxation and family time.
Think “No Matter What…”

For each day, week and month, put some priorities in a “no matter what” category. “I will exercise no less than four times this week, no matter what” or “I will take at least 20 minutes of quiet personal time each day, no matter what.”

Set Boundaries
Set the number of nights you will allow yourself to be away on business travel or at meetings, how many overtime hours you will work, when you will not answer the phone and email, etc. Of course, some circumstances may create exceptions, and you need to be flexible. But guidelines will give you a standard for making decisions that align with your goals and your values.

Create “Sacred Time”
Create pockets of time that cannot be compromised by any other obligations. For example, “Every Friday night is family night.”

Priority Planner
Rate how balanced your life is in each of these priority areas, then answer the two questions that follow:

Great Good Needs work
Nutrition
Fitness
Spirtual life
Relaxation/quiet time
Family
Friends
Fun/pleasure
Personal growth
Professional life
Professional growth
finances

1. What specific things can I do to correct the areas that are out of balance (i.e., call my sister once a week, work with a fitness coach, go to a painting class)?

2. How will I integrate my planned changes with the other priorities in my life (i.e., include my family in fitness plans, plan new activities into my budget)?

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