Where Are You On Your To-Do List?

By Nora Wallace Walsh

Founder & Head Coach

Healthy Balance Fitness

When you look at what is important to you and where you spend the majority of your time, do you find yourself towards the bottom of your to do list or not on it at all?

Do you often find yourself saying yes to others when you really don't have the time or energy? Do you put others' needs before your own? This is very common when you have a career, family and individuals that depend on you, but if you continue on this path you will find yourself over-committed, drained of all your energy, and unhappy.

The most important aspect of living a healthy, balanced life is to do things that make you happy, things that are important to you, and things that help you grow into a better human being. If you don't make the effort to take care of yourself and do things that make you happy, who will? A big part of taking care of yourself is to make a commitment to exercise and eat healthy. By exercising and making healthy food choices you will have more energy to do all the things that are most important to you.

If your life is so over-scheduled and over-committed that you are exhausted at simply the idea of finding time for you, it is time to make a change.

• Try to do something every day for you and only you.
• Pay attention to your body and when you don't feel well.
• Start saying NO to people and projects.
• Do something you have always wanted to do.
• Get help - hire an assistant, a housekeeper, babysitter, personal trainer, enlist family members, etc.
• Exercise regularly. If you don't have a full 30 minutes, then try breaking it into 10-minute increments. Make exercise a part of your day.
• Eat breakfast every morning. Followed by a nutritious lunch and dinner with two healthy snacks in between.
• Get 7-8 hours of sleep every night.
• Set aside special time with family and friends.

This is a perfect time to take care of you. Make a commitment this year to put yourself back on your to do list and create a healthier and happier life.

Core Strength, or just pain?

Feeling virtuous and ambitious one day last week, I ordered the Gaiam BalanceBall Chair, which is supposed to strengthen my core muscles and improve spinal alignment while I work. Sounds brilliant, right?

It's definitely better than just sitting on a plain old exercise ball at my desk, since that thing was always getting in my way and I could just never get it to the right height.

I can already feel it in my "core," but I can also feel it in my neck a little bit. Hmmm ... I think I may need to tweak the ball inflation a little bit.

Keeping healthy and fit seems to be a full-time job with a lot of requirements!