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Do you ever find yourself too busy or too tired to even think about making dinner? Too exhausted to drive to the gym so you just skip exercise altogether? When dealing with the stress and the time constraints of a busy work week, I've found that the "mini-menu" approach has been a simple but effective tool for clients. It might not seem profound now, but you might just be thankful for this pre-planning when the moment arrives.
Take dinner, for example. Let's say you don't get home from work until 6:30 or 7:00 pm. The last thing you want to do is look up a recipe, determine if you have the right ingredients, and then prepare something that will have you eating 5 minutes before bedtime. Instead, take a few moments when you do have some free time to come up with a mini-menu for the week ahead. It might look like this:
a) One pre-prepared frozen meal, cooked the previous weekend and ready to microwave or bake.
b) One simple fresh-prepared meal, ingredients on-hand and easy to assemble.
c) One healthy take-out choice, the restaurant and menu item(s) already chosen so you don't spend any time deciding.
d) One healthy delivery option, the phone number programmed into your phone so you won't opt for junk food delivery instead. Okay, let's be real here, this means pizza.
By developing a mini-menu you are preparing ahead of time for that inevitable hectic day. You've removed as many obstacles as possible and you've removed junk food/comfort food altogether- they are not even an option. When that crappy day arrives all you have to do is literally look at the piece of paper on which you've written your choices and choose a, b, c, or d You'll know exactly what to do without stressing over what, when, where, and how.
The same idea works for exercise. Too busy to fit in an hour at the gym? Develop a mini-menu of exercise options for that day when time doesn't allow an ideal workout and you're too frazzled to think beyond "I want couch." Even if you can't fit in your usual full session on the treadmill, keeping up the exercise habit is perhaps even more important. If you start skipping a day here and there, you'll find yourself developing a new habit altogether- one you don't want. What would make up the choices on your personalized exercise menu?
a) 15 minutes of pilates video before work, with the video and exercise mat within easy reach.
b) 20 minute power walk after work, with the route already planned in the menu.
c) 25 minute walk during your lunch break, your walking shoes and deodorant waiting in the gym bag in your car.
d) 30 minutes at the gym after work, accepting that any lesser amount of time is still valuable even if just to keep up the daily habit.
e) 25-50 pushups spread throughout the day. Limit yourself to 2 or 3 pushups at a time, spread here and there between t.v. commercials, breaks at work, before bed, etc. You'll be amazed that you can fit in this many pushups in a day!
Simple concept, right? But it's one born out of necessity and proven very useful by busy professionals. Anytime you feel overwhelmed, regardless of the situation, try limiting the number of choices you're facing. Too many choices is paralyzing. Narrow your options down to 3 to 5 of the most practical and least discouraging.
