Here's a curious thing. Look in any general book on healthy living and you will usually find a section on stress and the need to control, plan and organize your time better to avoid physical and mental overload. But have a flick through the leading time management books and guess what? You'll be hard pushed to find anything on health.
I am not a healthy living or exercise expert, but my role in raising this is simply because I want to help you join the dots to make a psychological connection between health and time management.
The reason is very simple. If you don't make time now to maximize your health, you may find yourself having no choice but to find time tomorrow for being ill and having health problems.
Of course, nobody is immune to being ill, but there are things you can do as far as your time planning is concerned to minimize health-related problems.
People make two main excuses for not exercising regularly: 'I just don't have time,' and 'I don't enjoy exercising.'
So far as the first excuse is concerned, remember that people who exercise still have the same amount of hours in the day available to them as people who are inactive. The fact that you are a super-busy, important executive doesn't mean that you have less time. Some of the world's top leaders in politics and business understand the benefits of keeping fit and they make time for it. They know that it enhances their ability to get their job done.
Ultimately, it is merely a matter of priorities and planning. The Time Master way is to put yourself first in the time planning process. With this philosophy in mind, the first planning question becomes: 'How and when can I make time to exercise?' All too often people plan all their professional commitments first, only to find that there is nothing left for themselves.
To the 'I don't enjoy exercise' brigade, the answer is easy. Find something that you do like. If the gym is not your thing, then walk a dog, try swimming, do some morning press-ups, play golf, buy a bike. If nothing gets your enthusiasm going, force yourself to park half a mile from your office and meetings and walk the last part, or choose to use the stairs and not the lift.
Confession time again. I know virtually nothing about the field of nutrition. I do know, however, that people who eat junk food all the time and who don't make the time to think about and plan what they eat are more susceptible to health-related problems than people who do plan like this. If you want to be a healthy Time Master, make time to eat properly.
There are many studies and reports available on the amount of sleep that is required. They cite different averages for various age groups and types of people. You instinctively know how much sleep you personally need to function at your most efficient. With this in mind, factor 'sleep time' into your personal time planning.
I have just returned from my second visit to an osteopath, with a third planned next week. Each session takes about two hours out of my schedule. My problem is ongoing neck and backache caused by sitting for too many hours in the wrong position writing this and other books or seminars. I now know, having taken the time at long last to find out, that my desk is too high and my office chair is useless. Apart from the discomfort and possible long-term damage, I am actually losing productive time by not having the right tools to do my job in the quickest and most comfortable way.
I am now practising what I preach and taking the time to discuss the purchase of a proper chair that is ergonomically sound for someone with my problems. I am also arranging to have an expert call to review my working position and set me up properly. All of this takes time and of course money, but it is better than being laid up and out of action for lengthy periods of time.
Take time out from your busy schedule and make it a priority to see a doctor, dentist or other relevant professional if you are having a health problem that is unusual for you or you are anxious about an ongoing health issue or something that is becoming intrusive. The sooner you make time for this, the less time you may need off work. In the worst-case scenario, making time to get checked out could literally be a life saver.