13 Easy Strategies to Stay Healthy When Life Gets Crazy Busy
You’re a busy businesswoman. You try to be the best at your job without neglecting your personal life and family. Oh, and you want to take good care of your health?
No, you don’t need to be a superhuman to do it. You need to have a good plan and priorities set in place. Let’s dig into your dream healthy lifestyle as a busy person.
13 Ways to Stay Healthy When Busy
Busy schedules are a challenge for any change you try to embrace. However, there are a few tricks you can start doing when trying to live a healthy life, even when you’re busy.
#1 Plan everything.
Planning is the foundation of any success. No matter busy your schedule gets, plan everything if your goal is to stay healthy.
Plan what kind of workouts you are going to do and when. Book them in your calendar. Make sure you know how long it takes you to finish your workout.
Plan your meals - what you’re eating for breakfast, lunch, and dinner during the week.
Block time in your calendar for grocery shopping and meal prepping. Write down everything you need to buy at the store.
Put reminders on your phone to take your meals with you in the morning. Don’t forget the last step. If I got a dollar every time I prepared breakfast at home and left it there, I’d be a millionaire now.
Plan some intentional time to manage anxiety.
The busy world inevitably brings stress into your life. Take intentional action to deal with it.
Find what fills up your cup and raises your vibration.
Block time in your schedule and be consistent with your practices. Even 5 minutes of meditation or journaling a day makes a huge difference. My favorite practices are journaling, walking, weekly reflection, and getting close to nature.
People say too much planning makes life predictable and boring. I’d say that you can’t outsmart life - it will always surprise you.
The best way to stay healthy when busy is to plan everything you need to succeed.
#2 Go for simple meals.
When your goal is to stay healthy while having a busy schedule, go for simplicity. Focus on the fundamentals of nutrition: high-protein meals with fiber-rich carbs and healthy fats.
Stop experimenting with new recipes. Find ten simple ones with all the needed nutrients and stick to them.
If you like them and find them delicious, you won’t get bored, I promise you.
All that matters is to prioritize high-nutrient meals.
Good nutrition impacts every aspect of your life, leaving you with more energy, a better mood, and a higher ability to focus.
#3 Be cautious of caffeine and alcohol consumption.
You may think that drinking 5 cups of coffee keeps you focused.
However, your body gets used to it. At a point, you will find that your morning cup of coffee keeps you sharp for half of the time.
Also, caffeine harms your sleep. And if you want to stay healthy, your sleep quality should be a top priority.
Drinking too much coffee can increase your stress levels and reduces the quality of your sleep.
When it comes to alcohol, it's okay to have one or two drinks when going out with friends or on a date.
However, don’t make alcohol consumption a part of your daily routine. It drains your focus and makes your sleep worse. Don’t put alcohol off-limits - just be cautious about how often you consume it.
#4 Make healthy foods available and convenient.
The easiest way to ensure you eat a healthy meal is to make healthy foods convenient and available. That’s why it’s great to prepare your meals in advance.
To save time:
Have frozen produce in your freezer. Veggies and fruits can’t go bad, and you can always add them to smoothies, stews, rice, etc.
Buy prebagged and precut food. It saves you time when cooking and makes everything so much easier.
Pack and take your meal with you when you don't have access to healthy food.
Put some healthy snacks in your bag - a protein bar or nuts. This way, you’re prepared when hunger strikes in.
#5 Drink water.
Hydration is crucial when you want to stay healthy. Fortunately, staying hydrated doesn’t take a lot of time.
All you need is to put your favorite water bottle on your desk. Every time you see it, it will remind you to take a sip.
#6 Take small steps.
Start with small steps when you want to embrace a new habit or practice.
For example, if you want to improve your nutrition, don’t start with a strict meal plan for the whole month.
Focus on your breakfast. Try to eat a healthy breakfast every day for a month. Even one meal can drastically improve your diet.
This way, you experience the results and become more motivated to uplevel your nutrition.
You make healthy life seem easy by focusing on one thing at a time.
Focus on one healthy practice at a time until you turn it into a habit.
#7 Move your body.
Incorporating more movement into your day is a necessity when you want to stay healthy.
Don’t focus on being perfect - for example, hitting the gym 4+ times a week for 2 hours. Focus on exercising three times a week.
It doesn’t matter for how long - simply exercise. Even 10 minutes of exercise is better than none.
Also, the better you become at planning, the more time you’ll have for exercising.
Besides intentional exercising, try to move your body more throughout the day. Walk to work, take the stairs, park away from the entrance, engage in more home activities - everything counts.
#8 Don’t skip meals.
Try your best to eat all your meals.
If you don’t have time to eat snacks, that’s okay. Focus on having three big meals, and don’t skip them.
Skipping your meals leads to overeating and eating more junk and highly processed foods.
Unfortunately, those foods don’t satiate you but make you want more and more until you feel stuffed and probably guilty.
Try to fit your breakfast, lunch, and dinner into your schedule and stick to them.
You can also make them more social or business-related. For example, have breakfast with your colleagues or girlfriends, go on a business lunch, and share dinner with family. Food brings people closer.
#9 Prioritize a good night's sleep.
If you want to stay healthy, prioritize your sleep, no matter how busy you are.
Sleep impacts your whole life - nutrition, energy levels, mood, stress, etc. People usually underestimate and neglect a good night's sleep.
Make sure you sleep 7-8 hours per night.
If you have trouble falling asleep, make a night routine. Drink camomile tea, listen to a meditation, read fiction, and do a brain dump before bedtime.
Find what works for you. It doesn’t have to take you 1 hour. It can be as simple as listening to 10 minutes of meditation.
Make a bedtime routine to help you fall asleep faster and sounder.
#10 Manage stress intentionally.
As much as you try to avoid it, stress is a part of your busy schedule. You can’t escape it.
The good news is you can manage it and reduce its impact on you.
As with everything else, I can’t tell you which is the best stress-managing practice.
It’s different for everyone. Journaling, meditation, and long walks are my cup of tea. Find what feels up your heart and makes you present and grateful.
Here comes the tricky part: When you’re busy, you don’t want to spend time journaling or meditating. You think that you don’t need it today.
That’s when you most need it - when you don’t want to bother doing it.
Be intentional with your stress-managing practices and block time in your calendar - every day. I am not kidding - that’s when you’ll feel the magic.
It doesn’t have to take you a lot of time. Set your timer for 5 minutes and put your mind at ease.
#11 Make a morning routine (even 5 minute one) to start positive.
How you start your day can either set you up for success or ruin your whole progress.
Morning routines get a bad reputation from all the Instagram influencers whose morning routine is 4+ hours.
You don’t have that much time. But you do have 5 minutes to start the day with intention. Your morning routine can be as simple as:
Waking up 10 minutes earlier than your family to enjoy the silence
Drinking your coffee on the balcony
Take the dog for a walk
Journaling your thoughts
Listening to meditation
Saying affirmations
Take a few deep breaths
As always: Don’t overcomplicate things. Focus on small and simple habits that light up your day.
#12 Avoid negative talk.
It’s hard to stay positive when so many things happen daily.
You have a million responsibilities at work and with your family. You try to prioritize your health, but it won’t work out every day. And that’s okay - that’s life.
If you judge yourself or use negative talk, you won’t turn back time and fix it. You would only make the situation worse.
Instead, analyze what did not work out and what you can do differently next time.
Your thoughts become your reality. A positive one will benefit you much more than thinking how weak you are for skipping your journaling session.
#13 Don’t give up.
The only way to fail in your health journey is to give up. It’s okay if you:
Haven’t eaten high-nutrient meals
Haven’t worked out for a week
Watched a movie until late and slept for only 5 hours
Haven’t managed your anxiety and stress
Skipped a meal or two
All those scenarios will happen to you, no matter how good you become at planning. Don’t get discouraged, and don’t quit. Your health journey is a life-long game. You can’t screw it up.
The best favor you can do yourself is to keep going. That’s a sure way to achieving any goal.
Final Thoughts
Staying healthy when busy is challenging but not impossible. It mostly comes down to excellent planning and taking one step at a time.
Don’t go for too many changes, or your health priorities will start draining you rather than improving your life.
If you remember only one thing from this article, let it be this: Don’t give up.
Building and sticking to a healthy lifestyle takes time, and there’s no one-size-fits-all.
Be patient, observant, and curious - see what works for you, what doesn’t, and what you can improve. You’ve got this.
If you feel lost in the nutrition world and need guidance to live your healthiest and happiest life, check out my 1:1 coaching. I can’t wait to help you build a healthy lifestyle you can stick to daily.
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I hope this article motivated you to keep on going with your wellness journey with more confidence.
Until next time.
- Mariya
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