Supercharge Your Everyday Activities

We say it all the time—”I’m too busy. I don’t have time for that.” But when it comes down to it, if we use the spare moments in our day toward things we find important, we’ll feel more balanced, happy and less guilty. If you learn to supercharge your everyday activities by maximizing those moments you will make progress toward goals in the meantime.

The next few weeks, we’ll devote our blog to helping you find ways to use your small blocks of time—1, 2 or 5 minutes—to make big strides toward your goals. If it’s exercise, relationships, or even just finding balance, we’ll give you our tips for using the precious time you have most efficiently. This week, Dr. Jenni Bruning Brown has tips for you to find easy and quick ways to add exercise into your daily routine without a gym. So, if you can’t make it to the gym or want a few extra efficient hacks, just throw these into your daily routine.

1. Brush. Get lower. When brushing your teeth, find a wall nearby and get into a wall sit. If there are none nearby, perform a squat hold. Most timed brushes go for 2 minutes so it’s an automatic timer! If you can’t do the whole time, work up to sitting for the full 2 minutes. If you need to, take a break, but try to sit the whole time. (4 minutes per day)
2. Dude, where’s my car? Everywhere you go, park at least 2 blocks away from your destination. This gives you 4 blocks to walk and if you are feeling zippy, you can lunge down the street 10 times on your way there. (1/5 mile + possible lunges)
3. Curl those cans. When you get groceries or go to any store, carry the bag rather than getting a cart if it’s only a few items. Do 10 bicep curls on your way to the checkout counter. (10 CURLS per visit)
4. Commercial crunch. While watching any TV or news program, do crunches during every commercial. Change it up after every 30 minutes and do full sit-ups, or add knees or twists to make it more fun. (VARIES).
5. Break time. Every time you have a break at work, do 10 tricep dips before you leave your chair. (10 DIPS per break)
6. Social Stretch. Every time you check Facebook, twitter, or Instagram, do a stretch. Stand tall, reach high—touch your toes. The minute you touch a button to check social just stretch something. (VARIES).
7. Take a flight. Taking the stairs wherever you go is a fantastic benefit. If you have an option to take an elevator—don’t. Walk the stairs. Taking 2, 3, 5 flights adds up over time. (2-10 FLIGHTS a WEEK)
8. Coffee time, core time. While your coffee is brewing, get down and do a 30-second plank. Make it part of your routine. If it takes longer than that, increase each day by 5 seconds, graduating up to 1 minute and holding at 1 minute each day. If it brews in a microwave, you can do the same. (:30 to 2 MINUTES)

Try just one or a few of these changes and see how you feel. Next week, look for some ideas for how to bring balance into your life and supercharge your everyday activities. Jenni will share some ideas on quick and simple ways you can stay balanced, so stay tuned!