You’re Never Too Busy To Look After Your Health

Many of us like to use the excuse that we’re ‘too busy’ when it comes to looking after our health. We tell people that we don’t have time to exercise or cook healthy meals or visit a doctor. The truth is that we all have the time – it’s just how we choose to prioritize that time. 

There are also many time-saving hacks when it comes to being healthy that many of us don’t take advantage of. For those that truly do live busy lives, these time-saving hacks can be a great way to look after one’s health without having to take too much time away from other commitments. Below are just a few examples of ways to look after your health when you’re very busy. 

Talk to a doctor on the phone

Got a health problem that you need to get a professional opinion on? Finding time to visit a doctor at a clinic could be tough if you’ve got a busy day ahead, however you may not need to book a physical appointment. Many doctors are able to do consultations over the phone, which could allow you to speak to a doctor on your lunch break at work or at home while looking after the kids. It may even be possible to do a video call if there are physical symptoms that you need to discuss. 

Of course, there are certain things that a doctor cannot do over the phone or a video call. However an initial phone appointment could allow you to get the ball rolling and discuss any concerns you may have. Delaying talking to a doctor could cause any health problem you may have to get worse – which could make any treatment more challenging or more expensive in the future. 

Pick up prescriptions online

Just as it’s important to not delay speaking to a doctor, it’s also important not to delay picking up medication that you may need. But what if you’re too busy to see a doctor and then visit a pharmacy?

Fortunately, for many common forms of medication, it’s now possible to get a prescription from an online doctor. You can then have that medication delivered to your address or workplace. This makes it much easier to get medication prescribed and keep on top of medication without having to free up time from your day to see a doctor and pharmacist.

Switch to healthy fast foods

When many of us think of fast food, we tend to think of unhealthy junk foods like burgers and pizzas. However, not all fast food is unhealthy. If you don’t have time to cook a meal, there are still many relatively healthy meal options from fast food restaurants – many of us simply don’t choose to have them.

And there are also many healthy meals that you can cook at home in as little as 30 minutes. Homemade fried rice dishes, seafood pasta, bean burritos and chickpea curry are just some of the healthy 30 minute meals that you can try. These will save you money compared to a takeout meal and could be more rewarding.

There’s even the option of healthy microwave meals if you’re feeling too lazy to cook, but don’t want to rely on takeout. These do require a bit of research to find, however they are available at most grocery stores. Just check out this post for some examples of healthy TV dinners. 

Embrace HIIT workouts

Many of us also don’t get enough exercise, because we feel we don’t have the time for a workout. However, you don’t have to spend an hour jogging outdoors or an hour exercising at the gym to stay fit.

HIIT workouts are ideal for people with busy lifestyles. ‘HIIT’ stands for ‘high intensity interval training’ and involves doing a series of intense exercises with small breaks within a short period of time. 

Many HIIT workouts can be done in as little as 20 minutes. You also don’t have to be at a gym – many HIIT workout programs are designed to be done at home in a living room or another small space where you don’t need equipment. There are exercise videos you can watch on YouTube to work out along to. There are also various blogs dedicated to HIIT programs that you can get inspiration from. 

Turn housework into a workout

Want to do some exercise, but also need to tidy the house? Why not do both at the same time? It’s possible to work up a sweat as you do housework by incorporating exercises into different chores.

Vacuuming is a great example. While vacuuming the floor, you can easily incorporate exercises like lunges and squats. You can also get some weight lifting in by taking the extra effort to lift up furniture and vacuum underneath.

Meanwhile, when washing the dishes, you can exercise your legs and core by doing side leg raises. You can even do step ups while washing dishes by placing a step underneath the sink. Yes, you might look a bit silly, but it’s a great way to combine too tedious tasks instead of having to do them separately. 

By being creative, you may be able to find other daily chores that you can combine with exercise. You can check out a few combined exercise/workout ideas here. 

Take power naps

Many people with busy lifestyles don’t get enough sleep. A lack of sleep can cause all kinds of health problems in the long run, so it’s important to find ways of catching up when you can.

Power naps can be a way to quickly rejuvenate ourselves when feeling tired. Studies show that power naps can increase alertness, improve reaction time, boost mood and help us to store memories. 

The ideal length for a power nap is 20 to 30 minutes. If you work from home, this could be something you can easily do in an afternoon when feeling tired, helping to give you a productivity boost for the last few hours of the day. 

It’s worth noting that power naps are no replacement for long uninterrupted sleep. However, if you don’t have the luxury of being able to sleep more than 6 hours at night because of young kids or other responsibilities, scheduling a power nap or two during the day is better than getting no extra sleep at all. 

Gain time by quitting smoking

There are many reasons to quit smoking, and if you’re looking for a nicotine-free alternative to help you quit, you might wonder, “Is there a nicotine-free vape?” An obvious reason to quit smoking is the health benefits that quitting smoking can have. However, something that many people don’t realize is that quitting smoking can also free up time in the day that would otherwise be spent taking smoke breaks. On average, a person spends 5 minutes smoking a cigarette. If you’re smoking 10 cigarettes in a day, that’s almost an hour of each day spent smoking.

Of course, many of us smoke to deal with the stress of a busy life, however there are many other ways to destress or stimulate yourself that are much healthier and less time-consuming than smoking such as drinking coffee or listening to music. Start taking steps to quit smoking now and win back time in your daily schedule. 

If you’re ready to take control of your health and gain back valuable time in your daily routine, start taking steps to quit smoking today. Visit Grinds and check out this helpful guide on how to quit nicotine and strategies to kick the habit for good.

Know when to be more selfish with your time

Not putting your health first could be a sign that you’re simply not setting your priorities right. Sometimes you need to be selfish with your time in order to protect your health. 

For example, you should be careful of prioritizing work over your health. If you keep overworking yourself, you’ll eventually experience burnout, and you’ll be forced to take time off work because your body physically won’t let you function. You could also increase the risk of developing stress-related health problems later in life like heart disease or a stroke.

Know when to tell your employer to reduce your hours or take some time off in order to protect your health. A good employer should look out for the health of their employees – and that means granting time off for sick leave if necessary. A good employer also shouldn’t have you constantly working overtime, or burning the candle at both ends. 

As for responsibilities like kids, many of us feel that we cannot be selfish, because our kids depend on us. However, you can still take a break from your kids to look after your health if needs be. This simply involves asking friends and family to step in when necessary and take your children for a few hours while you go to the doctor, catch up on sleep, go to the gym or simply find some time to relax. 

Don’t have any friends or family you can rely on? There are always day care services to look into or babysitters that you can hire. While it does mean paying extra money, it could give you the time you need to nurture your health. Ultimately, unless you look after your health, you won’t be able to look after your kids in the future.