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Planning for Success 13

1. Is this something I really need to do?
2. How does this activity benefit others or myself?
3. Is there a more efficient way to accomplish this task?

When I first reflected upon my
own habits and time use, I realized
that I was wasting time nearly every
day by taking trips to the grocery store
for one or two small items. These thir-
ty-minute “quick errands” amounted
to hours of time spent driving back
and forth to the store each week. I saw
that rather than take many trips to
the store for a small number of items,
I needed to plan ahead and make no
more than several trips to the store a
week. Doing so has not only saved me
money, but it has also provided me
with the extra time I need to exercise.
In all likelihood, you can identify an
aspect of your daily routine that you
can tweak to save time. This way, in-
corporating running into your routine
won’t feel like adding one more thing to the laundry list of stuff we are already doing
every day.
Once you have picked the days and the times you plan on running, stick to it! Don’t
let any other event interfere with the time you have set aside for reaching your goal of
becoming a runner. Remind yourself that when you are taking care of yourself, you are
better able to take care of others. I often think of the typical flight attendant speech, “be
sure to put on your own oxygen mask before helping others,” and try to think of running
as my way of giving myself the life sustaining oxygen I need to accomplish all my other