There’s no doubt that many women lead extremely busy lives with lots of commitments and responsibilities. However, we all know that running makes us feel good, improves our physical and mental health and enables us to cope with the rigours of daily life. Running is such a time efficient activity to do. You get a lot of return for a short amount of effort, that’s one of the many reasons we think it’s such a powerful vehicle for change.
You may have heard the phrase ‘Make time for exercise or you’ll have to make time for ill health’. So how can you reason with yourself that prioritising your run is vital? What strategies can you use to help you find the minutes you need to get your trainers on and get out of the door?
We asked our community for some of their tried and tested tips and tricks. Here are some of their replies. Perhaps there are one or two among them that might help you fit a run into a busy life.
- ‘I have had to shorten my runs and workouts because I’m so busy but I aim to do them before anything else in the day.’ Lisa R
- ‘I run when my daughter has her dance or swimming club, that way my exercise doesn’t eat into family time. We’ve now started to walk/run parkrun together too.’ Amy
- ‘I’ve found running with a group helps. Having that regular time each week makes it clear to my family that that is my running time. Having a training goal also helps me to make time for a run too.’ Marie
- ‘I put my running gear on to do the walk to school. I can’t back out once everyone has seen me. I also run the long route to the corner shop when I need milk.’ Lisa M
- ‘I put my runs in my diary. It doesn’t always work but it helps to have them in so I don’t book things over them.’ Kerry
- ‘It’s easy to think you need a long time to run but I know just a quick 15 minutes makes a difference so I try to use any small windows of time I get.’ Helen
- ‘I lay out my running gear the night before if I’m going first thing. I make sure I check the weather forecast too! I keep my running stuff in a basket separate to my usual clothes so there is less rummaging about in drawers looking for it.’ Julia
- ‘Sometimes I just have to surprise myself and get out before I have time to overthink the when, where and why.’ Emma
- ‘I eventually realised that when I run regularly I am so much better at everything else I do and more efficient too. Making time for it actually saves me time and stress.’ Juliet
- ‘I get everything ready the night before and go first thing in the morning. I’m motivated by the fact that even if I don’t have a productive day I will at least have completed a run.’ Karolien
If you want to hear how busy mum of twins and research scientist finds time to run and be a 261 Coach in Switzerland, then visit the Empowerment Talk we recorded with her. She is a great role model for understanding why and how to prioritise your running.
We hope this has encouraged you to stop feeling guilty about making time to go for a run, making the most of the time opportunities you do get and sticking to your plans when you’ve made them.
