Do you find it increasingly difficult to find time for your workouts in between your work, family chores and other responsibilities? If so you are not alone. In fact, surveys show that the most common excuse for skipping workouts and not exercising given was “lack of time.”

But some experts and psychologists claim that this is only an excuse used by many people who lack motivation, self-esteem or simply dislike exercising.

The truth is that where there is a will there is a way, so if you want to go ahead and do your daily workout, you will find the time and place to do so. If you want to stay healthy, fit, stress free and well, you will find the time for exercise.

If you still feel that you can’t fit your fitness program in your daily and weekly schedule, here are 25 ideas to do so and make some time for physical exercise.

Our 25 ideas how to fit exercise into your busy schedule

  1. Take the time to jot down a training plan. Either write a weekly or monthly training schedule, or add your planned training sessions or zumba dance lessons to your smartphone calendar or other organizer you use. By writing it down, you will be able to better visualize the plan for your day, which makes it more likely that you will stick to the schedule and proceed with your exercise as planned.
  2. Make sure you set your priorities straight in your to-do list for the chores you need to do. Take the time and pick the most important tasks which you need to complete for your work, your family, your health and for yourself. Most probably your daily workout or run will come ahead of needing to do the dirty laundry. You will feel better once you pick the important things above the others which can wait.
  3. If you literally have no time for exercise, do whatever is possible to find 5 minutes for a short walk or for a few exercises. Do this every day, and soon who knows – the minute can become 10 or grow to 30 minutes for making sure you stay physically fit.
  4. Take away from the screen time so that you have time for exercise. Try to limit the number of hours you spend in front of the TV, computer, smartphone and other screens if you find that it interferes with your workout program. You can sacrifice 30 minutes of TV or from browsing through your favorite social networks so that you can perform your daily workout instead! What’s more, according to new study published in the January 18, 2011, issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology – too much time in front of TV is really harmful to overall and heart health.
  5. Stay active when watching TV. When you are watching your favorite show or simply enjoying some leisure time in front of the TV, you can still squeeze in some physical activity, by doing some planks, squats, pushups, yoga, lunges or ball crunches while you are watching. Use the commercial breaks to do some cardio intervals, jump a rope or use resistance bands.
  6. Delegate part of your chores. Make sure you delegate the household chores, so that you get that free time slot for your workout during the day. You can ask the children to do the laundry or the spouse to cook or order dinner while you are exercising.
  7. Stay motivated by paying for workouts. Once you pay for a membership card at the gym or have pre-booked some workout sessions such as jazzercise or yoga you are more likely to be motivated to find the time to go, so that the money spent does not go to waste.
  8. Stay positive. Instead of thinking about how busy you are, and making excuses that there is no time for a workout, try to self-motivate yourself with positive thinking. Tell yourself that you will spend time for yourself and for your health today, and that you are willing to perform some kind of physical activity today. Soon you will feel the inner urge and motivation to stick to your fitness regimen
  9. Stay physically active even on your romantic date. Why not pick a hiking trail, a dance lesson or an improvised soccer game in the park as your romantic venue next time you are on a date. It will be different and much more original than the traditional date, plus chances are that you and your date will feel even more attracted to each other after engaging in physical activity together!
  10. Add some physical exercises to your work. Why not hold a walking meeting instead of spending hours of brainstorming and talking in the conference room with your colleagues? Take the time to walk to the coffee shop or the restaurant instead of ordering in to the office. Walking in the fresh air will help refresh your thoughts and ideas, as well as help you stay physically active during work.
  11. Socialize in motion. Next time you are meeting with friends, why not go to Yoga or a dance class, a walk or a climb instead of meeting for a drink or for lunch? It will be different and fun.
  12. Add exercise to your daily chores. Do squats instead of bending, exercise your calves when standing and incorporate any kind of exercise while you are performing your daily household chores.
  13. Get personal support. Find a close friend or relative to be your personal cheerleader and to cheer your achievements on a daily basis. If you don’t have a suitable person for that, join an online fitness community, where you can offer and receive all kinds of moral support from likeminded people.
  14. Stay true to yourself. Find the best sport or workout which suits your personal style and preferences. There is no need to go with the flow. Pick the activity which you enjoy the most and which suits you best and you are less likely to miss out on your workouts due to lack of motivation again.
  15. Tag your family along. You can combine spending precious family time together with the spouse and kids and stay active by organizing family walks, runs, hikes, outdoor sport and activities as a family. This will keep the entire family moving while creating memories together.
  16. Don’t shy away from exercising just because you are travelling. Make sure you take your workout clothes with you when you travel for business or pleasure. You can always fit in some exercises, walking, running, climbing stairs, swimming or other physical exercises when you are on the road.
  17. Get exercise DVDs. You can choose from a wide variety of workouts available on DVD at an affordable price. Even better, you can watch them and do the exercises at home at any time or place you choose. Do some yoga, Zumba, Pilates or any other exercise you prefer, by just hitting play and going along with the instructions by your video coach.
  18. Get up early. You can get up an hour earlier in order to go to your pre-dawn run or to do your workout before the rest of the household is up. This will allow you to be done with your daily exercise even before the day has begun for other people.
  19. Ditch the car and bus for your daily commute and cycle, walk or run to and back from work (whatever’s feasible). If it isn’t possible to do so daily, you can at least do it 1 or 2 times a week.
  20. Make sure you never spend more than 2 hours sitting or in an idle position. Even if you are working, watching a movie or doing anything else, take 10 minute breaks at regular intervals to do some stretching, waking or exercising. Set an alarm or your fitness tracking wearable device to remind you to get up and perform some exercises at every one or two hours.
  21. Focus on high intensity workouts whenever your time is limited. This will allow you to get the most of your exercise for fewer minutes. Focus on HIIT or other high intensity workouts for the best results.
  22. Wear your fitness tracking device or pedometer on your phone. Make sure you keep track of the number of steps you walk per day. Try to make at least 10,000 steps a day by walking the dog, walking the kids to and from school and by choosing to lead a more active life rather than driving everywhere. Even better – organize a competition amongst neighbors, friends or colleagues for the most steps made for a week or month. What’s more motivating than winning an improvised competition?
  23. Ditch the automatized work for manual one. Proceed to hang your clothes rather than using a dryer, or mow or rake your lawn instead of using machines.
  24. Don’t just sit around when waiting for your children to finish their sports, dance or other practice. Instead walk around or do some exercises while you are waiting.
  25. Take your phone calls by foot. Get your phone and take a walk while making all the phone calls you need to make. Make sure you stay safe if you are on the phone when you are out on the streets though. This will allow you to safely squeeze in a few minutes of exercise in your daily routine as well