time management is the key to health

Seriously, it is.

You've probably heard the saying that "we all have the same 24 hours"...  But if we do, then why does it seem like some people have an extra few hours in their pocket to workout, meditate, practice self care and cook nutritious food?
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Simply put, they have more control over their time and to-do list.

Time management isn't just about color coordinated calendars...

I mean, a pretty calendar does make it nicer, but the real key to time management is prioritizing your to-do list and events for the day.  This means, you have to get good at saying "NO" to things you just don't have time for, or don't want to do

What are your priorities?

These are the health tasks you should be including in your week, use this list and schedule them around your biggest to-do list items and scheduled events.
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• strength train (at least once, even for just 30 minutes)
• home cooked dinners (4-5 times a week)
• healthy snack/lunch/breakfast prep (do it once and be stocked for the week)
• 15 minutes of me time (ideally daily)
• "mental cardio" like a walk or yoga (at least 2 times, 30 minutes each)
• sleep (7-8 hours a night)
• family time (4 times a week, maybe at dinner time?)
• self improvement (listen to a podcast, read or watch a video about a new skill or topic you want to learn about)

Use whatever planner is easiest for you:

It doesn't matter what type of calendar you use, whether it's paper or an app, but you must have a way to schedule and rank things of importance.

I use Google Calendar, and would be totally lost without it.  It's how I schedule my personal training clients, track shifts for my second job, keep track of doctors appointments, notate social events, even plan out running errands.

I even plan things out to the half hour, sometime even 15 minute increments.  This lets see how much free time you have outside of scheduled things like meetings, appointments, etc.  Seeing that blank space can empower you to get tasks done with that free time.

I mean really, you can get a lot done in 15 minutes...  I bet you can empty the dishwasher, load it back up and wipe down your counters in that amount of time.  Or, maybe you could start a load of laundry and chop veggies for your family to eat throughout the week.

TOP QUESTIONS THAT WILL GIVE YOU MORE TIME:

WILL THIS TASK HELP YOU PERFORM OTHER THINGS BETTER?
What I mean by this is, are there certain health related tasks (like working out, reading, meal prepping) that will help you be more mentally prepared to tackle other things?  Remember, if you can't serve yourself, how can you serve others well?

WHEN WILL YOUR TASKS BE MOST CONVENTIENT?
Don't stress about running across town to get one specific item if you're not already near there.  Wait till you ALREADY ARE near there.  Or if that's not going to happen quick enough, schedule a time when you have the time to travel and do all that you can in that area of town.  Basically, make your drive times more efficient.

DOES THAT TASK REALLY NEED TO BE DONE TODAY?
Yeah, your kids might be out of their favorite snacks, or your husband might be out of his iced coffee,  but do you really need to run to Target today for just that one item?  Probably not.  Instead, why don't you spend that half hour at Target on a run instead?  You can always get those random items when you're already going to the store for your weekly needs.

CAN SOMEONE ELSE HELP YOU OUT?
Will your hubby be closer to the dry cleaner than you this week?  If so, he can totally grab your dress...  Just remember to thank him, and then you can both work on your emotional health.

HOW MUCH TIME DO YOU "WASTE"?
This might be a sore subject for most, but how much time do you spend on social media or binging Netflix?  Now I will be the first one to say that down time IS NECESSARY, but do you really need that much?  Most of us check social media more than once a day, so imagine the time you'd have if you only checked once, in the evening, after the dishwasher was loaded and your slippers were on?

To sum it all up:

You do have time to do what's important for your health, you just need to prioritize it and learn to consolidate all the little things.