In the hectic world live in, managing work, family life, and having some kind of social life is enough of a challenge in itself. Add in the desire to eat healthier, start exercising, and lose weight, and it can quickly feel overwhelming. But it doesn’t have to be.
With the right strategies, you can find time for your health and well-being without compromising your career or family commitments. Here’s how to manage your time effectively and start working toward your fitness and health goals.
#1. Prioritise Your Health Like You Prioritise Everyone Else
As a busy woman, you’re likely juggling multiple responsibilities. But just like you carve out time for work meetings, picking up the kids, or paying the bills, your health deserves a place on your to-do list. The key to time management is recognising that your well-being is a priority, not a luxury.
Tip: Start each day by identifying one or two things you can do to invest in your health. It could be meal prepping, squeezing in a 20-minute walk, or practicing a short meditation. When you treat your health like a top priority (and remember that at no point do you have to do it all, or do it perfectly – just keep doing something) you’ll be more motivated to stick to your goals.
2. Set Realistic, Achievable Goals
If you’re starting from scratch, trying to overhaul everything at once can be daunting. Instead of focusing on all the changes you want to make in your life—eating better, exercising, and losing weight—start small and set realistic, achievable goals.
Tip: Set one health goal for the week. For example:
– Meal prep for the week on Sunday.
– Walk 10,000 steps a day.
– Commit to drinking 8 glasses of water daily.
– Try a 10-minute workout after work.
By breaking it down into manageable steps, you’ll build consistency and start to create progress, which helps to keep you motivated.
3. Master the Habit of Meal Prep
Healthy eating doesn’t have to take hours out of your day. Meal prepping is a game-changer for busy women and mums who want to eat healthier but don’t have time to cook every day.
Tip 1: Dedicate a couple of hours on the weekend to plan and prepare meals for the week ahead. You can batch-cook healthy lunches, dinners, and snacks that you can grab on the go. Simple options like soups, chillis, chopping veg to make salads, or roasting chicken and veg, can be prepped in advance and stored in the fridge or freezer.
Tip 2: Cook extra portions of dinner during the week to create lunch or dinner options for the next few days. You could cook more of the entire meal, or simply add an extra tray of frozen veg to the oven while something else is cooking. For the last few minutes of cooking, you could add a tin of beans or lentils for carbs, fibre and a bit of protein. And that could become the base of a meal where you add poached eggs, tinned fish, or baked tofu for an easy nutrition-packed lunch or dinner.
Tip 3: Embrace frozen veg. This can save so much time otherwise spent chopping things up, enable you get more fibre and nutrients into your day, avoid waste, and save money. Frozen veg (and fruit) is often cheaper than buying fresh, plus it’s frozen soon after picking so often retains more nutrients. There are so many options in supermarkets now, all pre chopped and ready to bung in a pan or the oven. And no more having to throw away the wilted broccoli or shrivelled up pepper you found in the back of the fridge. Win!
When you have pre-made meals, you’re less likely to reach for fast food or unhealthy snacks, saving time and calories.
4. Incorporate Exercise into Your Daily Routine
Finding time to exercise when life is busy can be one of the biggest challenges. But the key is consistency, not necessarily duration. You don’t need to hit the gym for an hour every day. Quick, effective workouts can be integrated into your day with a little planning.
Tip: Try these simple ways to fit exercise into your routine:
– Morning: Wake up 15-20 minutes early and do a short workout like yoga, pilates, or bodyweight exercises (squats, lunges, push-ups).
– During breaks: Use lunch breaks or kid’s nap time for a brisk walk or a mini workout at home.
– When you have a minute spare, or are contemplating snacking on food when you’re not actually hungry – try an ‘exercise snack’ pick any of the exercises below, and do them for just one minute. If you still want a snack after, you could still have one, but sometimes doing some movement (even just for a minute) creates a win that distracts or uplifts you enough to wait until your next meal
– Evening: After dinner, take a family walk, do some light stretching, or fit in a quick dance session to your favorite music.
Short bursts of activity can have a big impact over time, and you’ll feel the benefits in both your physical health and mental clarity.
5. Utilise Tiny Habits for Big Results
If you’ve heard about tiny habits, you know that small changes can lead to significant results over time. The idea is to make small, incremental changes that don’t feel like big disruptions to your day-to-day life.
Tip: Try the Tiny Habits method by attaching your health goal to an existing routine. For example:
- After I brush my teeth in the morning, I will drink a glass of water.
- After I make my morning tea or coffee, I will sit down and quickly make a plan for my day.
- After I sit down at my desk, I will stretch for 2 minutes.
- After I pick up my kids from school, I will take a 5-minute walk.
Tiny habits are easy to incorporate into your existing routine, and they build on each other over time to help you achieve your larger goals.
6. Don’t Be Afraid to Ask for Help
One of the most important time management tools you have at your disposal is the people around you. Don’t be afraid to ask for help when it comes to balancing work, family, and your health goals.
Tip: Talk to your partner, family members, or friends about your health goals and ask for their support. Maybe your partner can help with childcare so you can get to the gym, or a friend can join you for a weekly walk. Hiring a coach can be hugely impactful in providing the help, support, guidance and accountability you need to get to your goals. The more support you have, the easier it will be to stick to your health commitments.
7. Practice Self-Compassion
It’s easy to get discouraged when life gets busy, and things don’t go as planned. Maybe you missed a workout or ate something unhealthy when you were stressed. That’s ok! Time management for health is not about perfection; it’s about progress.
Tip: Practice self-compassion. Instead of beating yourself up for what you didn’t do, focus on what you *can* do today. Treat yourself with kindness, and recognise that setbacks are just a part of the journey. Consistency over time will yield results, even if it’s not perfect every day.
For an depth guide on the incredibly transformative power of self compassion, this book is a great one to check out:
8. Track Your Progress
Tracking your progress is a powerful way to stay motivated. Whether it’s tracking your meals, workouts, or weight loss, monitoring your progress helps you see what’s working and what needs adjustment.
Tip: Use a simple app or journal to log your meals, workouts, and feelings. Apps like Nutracheck, MyFitnessPal, Strava, Fitness trackers that help you track your steps, or a basic note-taking app can help you stay accountable and track your wins. Celebrate small victories, whether it’s completing a workout or choosing a healthy meal.
Final Thoughts: You Can Do This!
Time management doesn’t have to be about squeezing every minute of your day to its maximum potential. Instead, it’s about being intentional with the time you have. By setting clear goals, planning ahead, and making your health a priority, you can start eating better, exercising regularly, and losing weight—even on your busiest days.
Remember, progress takes time, and it’s okay to have days that don’t go as planned. What matters is that you keep showing up for yourself. Prioritise your health, and watch how it positively impacts every other area of your life—your work, your family, and your overall happiness.
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Have you found any time management tricks that work for you? Share your tips or struggles in the comments below—I’d love to hear what’s helping you balance it all.
There are plenty of episodes all about weight loss, mindset, nutrition, menopause, strength training and more on my podcast:
Think Healthy with Hayley
And to find out more about how I can help you, check out the link below:
Online Coaching for Health, Fitness and Weight Loss
