The GoalTribe Blog

Having trouble finding time to exercise? Time to get creative! Here are 30 creative times to squeeze in a workout:

30 Creative Times to Exercise

1. First thing in the morning (Alarm clock workout)
2. A half hour before you normally get up
3. At sunrise
4. Walking your kids to school
5. On the bus / train
6. While commuting (walk, bike, or park farther from the building)
7. During meetings (“Mind if we walk while we talk? It’s beautiful outside.”)
8. At your desk (isometrics or standing while working or one of these: link1 link2 link3)
9. During lunch hour
10. During an eclipse
11. While you’re on the phone (consider cordless, mobile, headset, speaker phone or blue tooth)
12. While waiting for printing, booting, downloading etc.
13. Coffee break or smoke break
14. Immediately after work
15. While watching TV (or instead of, consider walking in place or a treadmill)
16. During commercial breaks (crunches, pushups)
17. While playing with the kids
18. While reading
19. While cooking
20. After dinner
21. During sunset
22. Meeting friends (for a walk instead of lunch)
23. While shopping (keep moving, try window shopping)
24. On a date (go for a hike or a bike)
25. While brushing your teeth (squats anyone?)
26. In the shower (wash vigorously!)
27. In the middle of the night
28. During a meteor shower
29. During a full moon
30. Isometrically flex and contract muscles anytime!

What are some other creative ways to find time to exercise? Please share in the comments!

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Standing in line bored out of your mind is a huge waste of your precious time on Earth. It’s one of the least efficient features of modern life, one that I think we’ll eventually do away with. But it’s only a waste if you stand their bored. In reality, it’s a precious gift of time during which you can do something profound… something deep and meaningful… something that can even blow your mind. Here are 6 ways to make your time standing in line into something profound:

6 Ways to Blow your Mind when you’re Stuck in Line

1. Become Joyful: Research in the new field of positive psychology has clearly established that your happiness has very little to do with the conditions of your life. Right now, somewhere there is someone in worse health with less money than you, standing in a long line under a blistering sun – and they’re happier than you are! They’re joyful simply because they have better mental habits than you. Standing in line is a perfect opportunity to practice being happy for no reason at all. Spend the time counting your blessings. What’s great about your life? What are you looking forward too? What are some of your best memories? Who do you love? What are you proud of? How do those thoughts make you feel?

2. Expand Your Mind: One of the profound things about being human is our capacity to keep learning. And there are oceans of mind-blowing things to study about this great, big, beautiful universe we live in. I frequently keep a small book in the car that I can slip in my back pocket to pull out if I’m stuck standing somewhere with nothing to do. Read up on the subjects that fascinate you. Read mind-expanding books on science, philosophy or spirituality. Read personal development books. Read the classics. Read executive summaries of books. (More ideas at 5 Ways to Learn on the Go)

3. Meditate: There are many ways to meditate. One way that can be done in line is: Take a deep breath. Relax your body (stand or sit or whatever). Keep your eyes open. Now just breathe in a relaxed, easy way and notice the things happening around you. For every thing you notice, just say “I smell someone’s perfume. I see someone’s red dress. I feel my shoes…” Just notice. Don’t judge. Don’t think. Don’t process. If you notice active thoughts, just gently go back to the exercise. How does that feel? Don’t worry, if you need to become active, you can snap out of it instantly. (Although with renewed sense of peacefulness.)

4. Breath in Serenity: Standing in line is a good time to do breathing exercises. Breathing purifies, energizes and leads to a nice, serene state of mind. Just do this 10 times: breath all the way out, squeezing your belly to make sure your lungs are really empty. Then take a long deep breath in. Puff out our belly, then your chest. When you think you’re full, sniff in through your nose once or twice. Hold for a few moments (as comfortable), then slowly exhale. Only do as many repetitions as is comfortable. You’ll probably need to build up to ten. Then enjoy the serenity that follows. Notice how your body feels.

5. Become One: Now we’re getting into some really mind-blowing concepts. Standing in line is an opportunity to do exercises to build your feelings of oneness with all things. Consider one of the people standing in line with you. This person is a manifestation of the same profound forces that crafted the starry sky; the same forces that make people look into each other’s eyes and fall in love; the same forces that blanket the springtime in flowers, greenery and birdsong. This person’s consciousness is one of the most profound mysteries of the universe. How could you show this person some kindness? Compliment them. Ask them about their life. Listen deeply, with respect. Each person has something to teach you. Each person is an opportunity to connect more deeply with life.

6. Transcend: “To the illumined mind the whole world burns and sparkles with light.” – Emerson. There are many paths to the enlightened state of being, where you experience the profound nature of all reality and extraordinary bliss and lightness at all times. The more mundane the situation, the better it is for practicing this realization and the feelings that accompany it. Stand in line and think about the trillions of atoms all around you spinning and vibrating, doing their part to create this absolutely unique, once-in-an-eternity moment for you to experience. Most of these atoms were forged in the extraordinary conditions of a star, they are stardust. You are stardust. Imagine everything sparkling and shining. Everything is perfect in this moment.

So vow right now to never waste time in line again. Pick one or more of the practices above to transform your “waiting time” into “awakening time”. What steps could you take to be prepared for that?

You could also set a goal on GoalTribe to commit to not wasting another minute in line for the next 30 days to see how it impacts your life.

Do you have some other suggestions for making waiting time productive? Please share in the comments.

For more productivity strategies see: “Stop Wasting Time” on The Simple Dollar blog.

If you enjoyed this article, please support us in our mission to change people’s lives and change the world by sharing this article with the links below.

Thank you for reading!
Robin

Every day starts out with a fresh opportunity to live a life of meaning and passion, or get sucked into the flow of the mundane. The first thing you do in the morning can be a powerful way to set the momentum of the day in a powerful direction. One potentially life-changing habit is to start doing something extraordinary first thing every morning. Something that makes you feel capable, energized, motivated or inspired.

How To Make Sure You Don’t Get Caught Up In the Day

Do it before you have breakfast.

Do it before you shower.

Do it before you check your email.

Maybe even do it before you get out of bed! (This depends on what ‘it’ is, of course.)

LifeHack has a great post today on How to Wake Up and Instantly Achieve Something Every Day with lots of specific suggestions and guidance.

Try starting a www.GoalTribe.com goal to try “Doing Something Extraordinary Before Breakfast” for 30 days to see how it impacts your productivity, your energy, your enthusiasm and your overall quality of life.

Some Extraordinary Things You Can Do Before Breakfast

1. Contact a friend you’ve lost touch with
2. Write a letter to the editor or your congressman
3. Write a gratitude Letter
4. Brainstorm Solutions to your life’s most pressing problems
5. Exercise
6. Do a random act of kindness
7. Set up a romantic gesture that will make your loved one swoon
8. Finally: get organized, get on a budget, get scheduled, get a life!
9. Write a timeline of your life so far (and then where you’d like it to go from here!)
10. Take action for some cause online (sign a petition, spread the word, send money, get educated, etc.)
11. Meditate

To Your Success!
Robin

What ideas do you have for extraordinary things to do before breakfast? Share them in the comments!

We launched the GoalTribe goal achievement social network to make a massive, positive impact on the world. Together we can improve people’s lives, their communities and the world. We need your help! Please spread the word with the links below.

When you plan a goal, or begin any project that is likely to spin out of control, don’t just decide what you DO. Also decide what you are committed to NOT doing. What are your likely time-wasters? How do you let projects get too complex? Where are you likely to spend too much time on details that don’t matter? For example, does that internal document really need to be SO perfectly formatted and proofread? Too clean your house for the party, do you really need to reorganize the closet no-one will see? Just say NO and get things done in time and without stress.

Some useful blog posts on this subject:

Overcoming Perfectionism Paralysis - by Coach Natalie Gahrmann
Don’t Have Time for Goals? Simplify Your Commitments - The Cheerful Living Blog