5 Questions to Ask Yourself If You “Don’t Have Time to Workout”
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So you think you don’t have time to work out?! Well, in this episode of Embrace Your Real, I’m going to challenge you on that! I actually have five questions I want to ask you that I think will help highlight the fact that you do in fact have TIME.
Get ready because I’m about to make you think about what your priorities actually are, how you’re currently spending your time, what boundaries you’re failing to place, how you can begin to ask for help, and who in your life is using up (AKA not respecting) your time.
If you loved this episode, you’ll also love…
Episode 80: Three Things That Deserve Boundaries
And if you’re not already following the podcast on the ‘gram, @EmbraceYourReal, give it a follow to now to start getting a daily dose of real talk!
TRANSCRIPT:
Hey there beautiful human. You're listening to Embrace Your Real with me, Julie Ledbetter, a podcast where I empower you to just be you. With each episode, I dish you a dose of real talk and actionable advice for building your confidence, honoring your body and unconditionally loving your authentic self. Stay tuned if you're ready to embrace your real, let's get in and let's go.
Hello and welcome back to another episode of the Embrace Your Real Podcast. I'm so grateful that you are here spending some time with me today, wherever you're tuning in. We have listeners all over the world and it is so cool to see all of the different countries tuning in on a weekly basis. So we shared a screenshot of this, post it up on your Instagram story, tag me, Julie A Ledbetter And tell me where you're tuning in from. I love connecting with you guys. So today, as you probably read the title of this episode, How To Make Time To Work Out When You're Always "Busy." So you think you don't have time to work out. Well in this episode of Embrace Your Real, I'm going to challenge you on that, of course in love. But I actually have five questions that I want to ask you that I think will help you highlight the fact that you may do actually have the time to move your body. You might not just realize it.
But before we dive into today's episode, I wanted to share this super sweet review. It comes from [Magdoy 00:01:29]. She says, "Wow, this podcast came to me during my freshman year of college in a pandemic when much of my typical hope and joy was dwindling. This podcast is full of realness and positivity all at the same time. It's something that I look forward to and has actually changed the way I honor my body. For the first time in my life, I'm not working out to look good, but to feel good. And it really feels good. Thank you Julie. Keep shining your light. God bless you." Oh, this right here is the reason why I do what I do. Honestly, the fact that you are a freshman, number one, I made a commitment when I first started this podcast that I would speak the things that I wish I would have known as a senior in high school, as a junior in high school, as a freshmen and sophomore in college.
And so the fact that you are in college tuning in and on top of that, going through a pandemic, my heart goes out to you, all of you people that are in school and just navigating through this pandemic virtually, a lot of you guys, if not virtually, it just looks a lot different. And so I am here with you. My whole goal for this podcast is to always share things that I wish I would've learned because I think I felt so alone in that time of my life. And if I had something like this, I really feel like it would have helped me. And so the fact that you are sharing that it is helping you and you are a freshmen in college. Thank you.
I love reading your reviews and this is truly why I do what do. And so thank you for showing up and just sharing how this podcast has changed your mindset and kind of where it found you. So appreciate you. If you haven't already rated and reviewed the podcast, all you got to do is scooch over to Apple Podcasts. You can press pause, click rate and review, it's at the bottom. It takes less than 30 seconds and it really does help us out in the podcast world.
So moving on to the five questions I want to ask you to help you figure out if you really do have the time. Number one, what boundaries do you need to put in place? I've talked a lot about boundaries on my podcast. So if you just scroll through the episodes, you will see I have many different episodes on boundaries. So if that's something that you want to learn more about, or you're struggling with, please be sure to tune in there. If you don't have at least 30 minutes just for you and your day, I believe that it's because you've lacked creating boundaries.
Actually just talked about this in episode 79, 3 things that deserve boundaries, which I highly recommend listening to if you haven't already. Or listen to it again, after you have listened to this, because you may get some new insight. It's linked in the show notes for you to easily go listen. But again, if you don't have 30 minutes just for you in your day, I truly believe it's time that you need to start placing some boundaries in your life. If you don't have 30 minutes in your day just for you, this may mean that you're saying yes to too many things. This may mean that you aren't asking for enough help or you aren't delegating things properly in your life, or you are expecting yourself to do too much in one day. You're holding yourself to a standard that is almost impossible to the point where you are not allowing yourself any time for yourself or you aren't respecting your time or someone else in your life isn't respecting your time.
AKA, they are placing demands on you, which I talk about this in episode 79, I talk about how important it is to stand your ground and how important it is to know what you need to stand up for. And oftentimes the reason they keep asking is because you keep giving. And I'm not saying that you can't be or should not be a giving person, but it is so important that you respect your time. So you may be asking yourself, okay, great. So what do I do here? If this is me, I feel like I don't have 30 minutes of my day. What do I do? I want you to start by writing down everything you need to do in your day and ask yourself these questions.
Number one, what on this list can I say no to doing right now or today?
Number two, what on this list can someone else do for me? AKA, think about the little things. And I've actually learned this from some of my girlfriends. They're so, so good at delegating. And I have just always found much, I don't know if it's an ego thing or just so much confidence in me being able to do everything, AKA, cleaning and laundry and all the things. And then talking about business is a whole nother separate category of my life that I really struggled to outsource things in but it does not mean that you're weak. It does not mean that you're failing if you ask for help, whether that is having someone clean your house once a week or once a month, or having someone come over to watch the kids. That does not mean that you are a bad mom, that does not mean that you're failing. It just means that you are respecting your time and you're understanding the importance that you need to have some time to yourself.
Question number three to ask yourself. What on this list doesn't have to be done today?
And question number four. What on this list showcases someone not respecting my time?
From there, you can easily begin to eliminate a few things which will open up space for you to go crush that workout, for you to go take that walk or go do something for yourself to make sure that you are pouring into yourself. Because at the end of the day, or let's just say, you're raising your kids and you're constantly focused on them, remember that there is going to be a time that your kids grow up. And I want to make sure that you don't lose yourself in that process to when they move out, you feel like you don't even know yourself. And I've heard this from a lot of people, how they did not invest in their marriage, they did not invest in themselves during that time because they were so busy with the little things day to day that they didn't realize that it's something that builds on one another and it creates momentum. And that momentum can spiral out of control to the point of you not even carving any sort of time out for yourself.
And then when you start to, you feel this immense guilt, because it's not something normal. So I just want to normalize you carving out time for yourself and knowing that it's not selfish. You need to start respecting your time and energy by placing boundaries in your life. Your time and energy are just as valuable as anyone else's so you don't need to do everything yourself and you're not a bad person for saying no or asking for help.
Number two, are you making other people's priorities a priority over your own? Now, oftentimes we are putting other people's priorities before our own, and we don't even realize it. So I want to challenge you to start becoming aware of where this is happening in your life. Let's look at this example. The next time someone asks you to switch a time because they need to do something, but the time they want to switch interferes in what you need to do, or maybe a scheduled appointment that you had or something that you are planning to carve out your time to do, you have to stand up for yourself. They are standing up for their priorities. So you are more than welcome to do the same.
Now, again, I'm not saying that compromise isn't something that you shouldn't do, but I do think that oftentimes we compromise too much to the point where we're constantly saying yes or we're letting people walk over us because we're scared to stand up for ourselves.
Just remember this, that your needs are just as important as everyone else's needs. Other people are prioritizing their own needs over yours. So why do you feel guilty for not putting your needs first? It's kind of crazy to think about, like when you put it in black and white, blunt terms. You can free up more time to get your workouts in when you start actually making them a priority over other people's priorities. Make it clear to the people in your life that this is a non-negotiable. So start saying you're able to help them after you get your workout in, or you're able to do it at a different time. You don't have to say no. Say yes, but after your workout.
Question number three. Are you aware of your screen time? Do you have a favorite show that you tend to watch every week? The Bachelor. If your answer is yes, I hate to break it to you, but you are making watching TV a priority, overworking out, if working out is the thing that you're struggling to do. The Bachelor, Dancing With The Stars, Grey's Anatomy. You're saying with your actions, that those are more important than your workouts. And I want to ask you, how many hours per week are you spending on Instagram, or on Facebook or on YouTube? I want you to press pause on the episode and check your screen time on your phone. Whatever that number is, it's clearly showing that you do in fact, have time to work out. I actually just talked about this on my Instagram last week. I think it was 56 or 57% screen time was down from the week before.
You guys, I'm telling you that I kept telling myself I don't have time. I don't have time for certain things in my life. Like just certain stuff that I've been wanting to get done, crafts, things that I've been wanting to do. Working out a few days, I was like, I don't have time. And then I looked at my screen time and I was like, oh my gosh, I do have time. So I really made it an intentional priority to put my phone down and just live. Do the things, be in the moment, clean the house, get my workout in, make sure that I am prioritizing meal prepping and just getting set up because I know that the next few weeks are going to be crazy. I didn't set out to say, I want to be 57% less time, like then last week. I just said, I want to try and be more intentional and make an effort every single day so that whenever I go to reach my phone for mindless scrolling, I'm just going to be flat out honest.
For me, my scrolling typically happens when I am eating or when I'm on the toilet. And then I find myself and I'm like, I am scrolling for so much longer than I need to be. And it's taking so much longer to do things. Or I'm sitting in the car, driving with Josh and I'm scrolling. I'm not taking that time to be intentional about talking with him and just connecting with him. I'm scrolling. And so those are the little tiny pockets of time that I found myself reaching for my phone. I reminded myself in that moment, how can I look up and what can I do to replace that time in this moment? And I found so much more free time. Not to mention, I found so much more freedom and creativity. And I found myself actually being able to do things from start to finish, not just starting something and never finishing it because I get distracted.
I just want to encourage you to look at that screen time if possible. I know for me, it's on the iPhone, you can just look under your settings and you'll be able to see screen time. It's fascinating. It's a little bit scary. It's a hard pill to swallow sometimes, but it's important that you keep tabs on that. Because think about that time times every day that week, times 4 weeks in a month, times 12 months in a year, that is so many hours we spend on our phone. So really be intentional about that. Especially as we head into the holiday season, I want you to try to look up as much as possible and soak in those memories with those friends, and family and memories that you're making that will last a lifetime, truly. Checking your Instagram feed can wait. The memories that are waiting to be had are right in front of you, but your life, your people, they need you to be a part so that the memory can last forever in your mind.
Question number four. Do you have people in your life who are pulling you away from your workouts and making you feel like you don't have time? Whether it's your friends or your family or significant other, do you feel like you need to be spending time with them over your workouts? While I'm not suggesting you make workouts a priority over your loved ones, I am suggesting that you compromise and find a balance. Never, ever, ever skip out on a significant get together because you have to work out. That's not what I'm advocating for, but if they want to go out for dinner all the time, or they're wanting to snuggle up on the couch all the time or whatever it is that is preventing you from getting your workout in, you have to stand your ground and find a compromise. Say yes to them, 50% of the time, and then go to your workout the other 50% of the time, or schedule it out and communicate with your partner. Hey, I'm doing my workout from this time to this time, like I always suggest to schedule it in like an appointment.
That way you can schedule relaxation. And I know that sounds like really you're going to schedule relaxation? But if you're really going to do it, just like you really want to get that work at it, you have to schedule it in. And it might seem odd to schedule in relaxation or cuddle time. But I promise you, if you do that and you follow your schedule and you follow through all of those things, it is actually allowing you more freedom to prioritize the things in your life that you want to do so that when you get to the end of the day, you feel more balanced. It's very, very similar to what I talk about with meal planning. And many times people say, well, meal planning is so rigid. And I say, I believe meal planning is one of the best ways for you to be able to eat the foods that you truly enjoy and want to eat. Because if you don't plan them into your day, you're likely either going to go one of two ways.
You're going to feel restricted, which will lead you to bingeing and overeating it. Or you're just going to say, screw it all the time. And then you're just going to constantly be in this cycle. It's so important, just like with the food scenario to schedule in time to do each thing, it's okay to compromise, especially when it's honoring your body. You're giving yourself the permission to have increased energy, to have better quality of sleep, to enjoy your movement, to feel better in your skin, and as a ripple effect that actually benefits those who are in your life that truly love you and want to spend that time. So by you honoring your body with movement and making that a priority, and then post workout making it a priority to cuddle and spend time connecting with your partner, it's actually a win-win. Because the honoring your body with movement is helping you be the best person for that person when you do connect with them.
Question number five. Is it actually a lack of time or is it a lack of making it a priority? Now I'm going to be 100% real with you. When people say they don't have time, it really truly means I'm using my time to prioritize something else. Lack of time isn't actually the issue. It's a lack of making it a priority in your life. We all have different priorities and that's totally fine. Actually, I love that about us, that we're all different, we all come from different walks of life, we all have different priorities, things that make us happy. But if you are unhappy with your body and you regularly complain about it, it is time that it becomes a real priority. This is important that I state that I'm talking to the people who are complaining or who are frustrated with where they're at.
If you are not making movement a priority and you feel happy with it, and you feel like that's where you need to be in your life. Great. I am speaking to the people who are unhappy, they're complaining and they still feel like they don't have time. I have ladies inside my Movement With Julie workout app, where they make their workouts a non-negotiable five days a week, no matter what. And this is women that are working full time, have three kids, running an entire household. So many different walks of life, but they do it because they have made it a non-negotiable in their life.
Now the cool thing about the app is that some days I understand we're going to have more time than other days. So when I say making it a non-negotiable, I'm not talking about a full on workout every single day, I have the 30 minute variations in the workout app. I make it very clear that you need to do what you can with what you have that day and let that be enough. So no guilt and no shame if you have to do a shorter workout one day, it is all about just making it a non-negotiable. When you make it a non-negotiable, you don't think about it, you don't question it. You just do it because it's a non-negotiable in your life. So if it's 9:00 PM at night and you're tired and you just want to go to bed, you move anyways.
You tell yourself, okay, I'm just going to do bare minimum. Like I've talked about on my podcast before. Motivating you to get down, or for me, it's get down to the basement and work out. But for other people, pull out their dumbbells, pull out their workout mat or their bench and just get it done. If you know your day's going to be slammed, you wake up a little bit earlier and get your workout in. It's all about prioritizing what is most important to you? And if that's a non-negotiable, you're going to get it done. And the beautiful thing about the Movement With Julie workouts is that you don't have to spend the time driving to and from the gym. I would say about 85% of our girls, and especially right now, as we're heading into phase two of kind of the lockdown for the pandemic, we have so many women that are working on at home. And that's a beautiful thing about the app is that it literally requires dumbbells, a bench and maybe some bands, but those are optional.
So you can literally do these workouts in your living room. I've seen people do their workouts on the deck, in your basement, in your bedroom, in your dorm room, like wherever you are, if you have a little space for you to move around, that's all you need. And so the beautiful thing is that you can literally wake up, roll out of bed and get your movement in, or you can get your workout in. I would recommend showering before you go to sleep, but get your workout in, shower and then go to bed. There's no commuting to and from the gym. So super important that you find something, number one that works for you. And two, that you get excited about.
To some, everything we just discussed, here's what I want you to do. The next time that you tell yourself, I don't have time. I need you to reframe your mindset and ask yourself this question and make yourself answer it. Where can I make the time for this? If this is a priority in my life, if this is important to me, where can I make the time for it? Because at the end of the day, your issue is not about not having time. It's about not using the time that you do have wisely. And also, like I mentioned earlier in this episode, please, please, please go listen to episode 80, 3 things that deserve boundaries, because I don't believe any of us are placing enough boundaries in our life. And I do think that boundaries very closely correlate with the priorities in our life or the lack of priorities that we have in our life.
If you have somebody in your life, a girlfriend, a sister, a coworker that you feel like would really benefit from this episode. I just ask that you share it with them. You can copy this link, text it to them. You can post it up on your Instagram story. Tag me, Julia Ledbetter. I would love to know your aha moments. I would love to know what came from it. Thank you so much for tuning in. I believe that you can start to prioritize your movement and you can start to prioritize honoring your body with what it needs for your body, mind and soul. It's just a matter of mindset reframing. I love you so much and I will talk to you guys in the next episode.
All right sister, that's all I got for you today, but I have two things that I need you to do. First thing, if you're not already following me on the gram, be sure to do so, Julie A Ledbetter. Yes, it's with an A in the middle for that daily post-workout real talk, healthy tips and tricks and honest accountability to keep your mind and heart in check. The second thing, be sure to subscribe to Apple Podcasts to never miss an episode. Thank you so much for joining me. It means the absolute world. And I'm going to leave you with one last thought. The most beautiful women that I have met in my life are the ones who are completely confident and secure in being authentically themselves. Remember that beauty goes so much deeper than the surface. So go out there and embrace your real because you're worth it.