"I just don't have the time!"

I would say most of us think we lead very busy lives.  I've been pretty busy since high school, and ever since then some combination of school and/or work has always occupied way way more than 40 hours of any week I've lived.  I think back on certain points in my life and wonder, "how'd I ever keep up with all that?"

But time is like money -  You never feel like you have enough.  I remember I had some extra credits so I took a semester off in college to work and save some  money.  Keep in mind, I was already working while in class.  I got accustomed to 40 hours a week, and when I went back to school, it was a real shock.  I felt like it was impossible to do everything, and couldn't understand what had happened: I had never had a problem keeping up before!  But after a few weeks I adjusted, and though I was definitely busy, it wasn't impossible...just busy.

So if you look at your life now, you probably feel like you are very busy.  Work, wives, girlfriends, kids, hobbies, friends, etc.  God forbid you have to try and fit in a trip to BB&B.

So the things that fall to the wayside are the things that are harder.  Like working out.  I have several people who I have spoken with who tell me they don't have time to work out.  Some are sort of healthy, some want or need to lose weight.  So I made a suggestion; offered a challenge, if you will (note: I did this with several people, and the outcome was always the same).  I ask if they've ever heard of a burpee.  If not, I explain it to them.  I say if they're pressed for time, do 15 burpees.  That will take even the most out-of-shape person probably about a minute at most.  Then, I tell them to add one burpee every day.  That's it.  Just one.  The idea is that within a month you will be doing almost 50 burpees a day.  Still not a marathon, but if you're familiar with burpees, you would understand that going from no exercise to 50 burpees a day may yield some noticeable health benefits.

Some people start them, and feel good about it.  It's not too bad, and it only takes a minute.  And they are surprised that after a week or two they are doing 30 burpees, which would have been impossible for them on day 1.  But inevitably, they all stopped.  More than one person told me: "man, I just don't have the time."

WHAT?!?  Remember that whole "takes less than a minute" part?  The real answer, and one person actually came clean with me, is that "I really just don't care enough about my health to want to stand up and work hard.  I really just don't care."

I had this experience when I first started physical therapy about three weeks ago.  They gave me exercises to do at home, 2-3 times every day.  The first night, I ran through them and it took me about an hour and a half.  I was very discouraged...how on earth was I going to find time to do all this?  I was still working, and working longer hours becaues I was moving very slowly, with the knee and all.  I told my mom it was impossible.  She just looked at me and told me, "but you know you have to do it."  Sure enough, every day since, I've been waking up early, staying up late...but I get at least 3 hours of PT in every day.

It's crazy what you can do when you're forced to.  No one is putting a gun to my head, but the fear of making a less than full recovery is something I can't live with, so the PT isn't an option.  I must find the time.  Right before I got injured, my instructor instituted a new policy: if we weren't going to class 5 days every week, we couldn't go to the "advanced" class any more.  Lots of people didn't even try, they just told him "sorry, I just don't have the time."  The real answer?  I hope I've already made that clear.

I really wanted to document this because one day I won't need that much PT every day.  I don't want to get accustomed to a schedule that is work and 2-3 days of jiu jitsu, or any workout for that matter.  I don't want to forget what it is like to truly be busy, or forget how much spare time is hidden beneath our laziness.  Next time someone suggests you do something that will benefit you, try to at least pause and think before you tell them "I don't have time."  If you're not going to do it, at least be honest about the reason.