It doesn’t matter how busy you think you are, staying fit is so important when looking at your long-term health perspective.

Exercise is quite simply essential to our overall well-being, and you need to take time to plan your schedule.

If you have been putting it off, start right now! By exercising on a regular basis, you will be much more able to deal with the ups and downs of life, your stress level will be reduced and you can accomplish more without feeling wasted. You could be so much more productive and truth be told you don’t have to devote a great deal of time to doing this, either.

Rise early each morning. Almost every fitness expert (you know, those people who like to tell us what to do) seem to agree that we do not need more than eight hours in bed each night. Count up how many hours you are sleeping. The chances are that you can cut back a little bit on your sleep and set the alarm clock to go 15 to 30 minutes earlier. Morning is definitely the best time to devote to exercise, as there is less to distract you and unless your time management skills are polished, evening time can quickly whittle way.

Trade in your lunch hour. You don’t have to take an hour for lunch. Trade in the traditional use of this time for time spent exercising. If you can’t find a nearby gym, use the time instead to take a brisk walk. Don’t be afraid of going out in the rain if you have to adjust and remember how much better you will feel when you return to tackle the afternoon schedule. This approach is probably the simplest way to make sure that you get good exercise, by walking briskly and making sure that you have elevated your heart rate appropriately.

Don’t waste the time you sit in front of the TV. If you like to watch a certain show on television or like to spend an hour or so each evening catching up in front of the TV, clear a little room in front of the set and do some crunches, or squats or perform some kind of activity while you are watching the show.

You should concentrate on what you are doing of course – you can multi-task, can’t you? Do three sets of some simple exercises in this way. See how accomplished you feel?

When you have to do chores, take advantage of the situation. Chores are a necessary evil for sure, but they have to be done. This is the time to work out as well. Don’t opt for the easy way of cleaning, put some effort into it, even if this means that you need to get down on your hands and knees and start scrubbing! By adding physical effort to your time in the garden or to cleaning, your health will benefit.

Plan some family activities. Working out with the family is sure to be a fun activity. Maybe it’s time for you to invest in a bike for each member and to start exploring those local bike trails that you hear all about. This can be a great family bonding activity and you can schedule something like this instead of a visit to the cinema, for example.

These days, professional coaching experts reveal, via the web, a number of other areas for you to consider as part of online life coaching.

It is so important that you maintain first-class health and specific coaching for women sites can help you utilise your time to best effect.

Amanda Alexander is Director of Coaching Mums and a highly acclaimed ICF-accredited coach who delivers professional coaching programmes to working mums who yearn for success, balance and fulfilment. Are you a juggling mom? Download our free eBook for working moms that will give you 5 simple and instant ways to balance your life right now!

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As a busy mum, if you need other sources of income, you might think long and hard about self-employment. Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to set your own hours, make a good income and still be able to cope with all those family commitments and household chores? Mums in this position have been known to turn to direct selling and it is said that 70% of the more than 50 million people occupied in this style of business are women.

So many things can stand in the way of the mum when it comes to getting back to work after a pregnancy or achieving some additional income as a family grows, but professional coaching – particularly coaching for women, can help quickly make these things an achievable possibility. It’s difficult to set a fixed schedule with a family involved, as some of us who have been down that road can testify that any number of crises and last-minute panics can push us off track quite easily. Kids can be so vulnerable to the smallest virus when they are at school and those school hour days you had saved up can easily whittle away. If the thought of a flexible-hour, part-time, direct selling business is very attractive to you, it’s definitely worth your while to look into online life coaching to help get you on the right track.

Before you rush off to start your direct selling business, consider some important aspects.

- Firstly you must really ask yourself whether you are a socialite, are outgoing and love to meet people. Of course you aren’t a hermit, its just that the business needs you to be very astute in social environments and forward reaching. This may require a bit of soul-searching; make sure that you are really cut out for this kind of approach before you start.

- Are you good at research? Online resources can really help to uncover a lot of information about any subject you can think of. Look into the concept of direct selling and learn all you can about the companies you are considering an involvement with. The direct selling business can be a little bit of a minefield and some “opportunities” can be compared to pyramid scheme selling. Be careful if you come across a program that requires you to sign other people up for financial remuneration. Always check references and contact the testimonial givers as well.

- Direct sales opportunities abound in various industries. You might be able to build a business around an existing hobby? Direct selling opportunities exist in childcare, book sales, clothing, beverages, cosmetics, supplements, party supplies, scrap booking, toys, weight management and a host of others. Try to get involved in something that you really like, this is surprisingly important.

- Be wary of any significant start up fees. Generally speaking these are low and you should expect to pay for an initial kit of supplies to get you going. Are you happy with the quality of the product concerned? Would you buy it yourself – if not don’t think that you’ll be able to sell it to acquaintances, friends or friends of your friends without some repercussions!

- Maybe you know somebody who is already into direct selling? Brainstorm with them as much as they will allow and while you may not expect them to give away any proprietary secrets, you will undoubtedly get some interesting tales from the front line to help you make up your mind.

Through a thorough investigation of the direct selling opportunity, you may be ready to invest and the next thing to do is to come up with a clear vision of what you expect from the business. Think about what income goals, lifestyle goals and contribution goals you want to set. When you have compiled your vision, take action by setting out the first 10 steps to help you launch your direct selling business in style.

Amanda Alexander is the Director of Coaching Mums and a widely renowned ICF-accredited coach who delivers professional coaching programmes to working mums across the globe who long for more time, balance and fulfilment in their busy lives. Download our free eBook especially for working mums with 5 easy ways to achieve balance.