We're three weeks into the New Year--a lot of you have made the resolution to start exercising--this is the time when some of you may find yourself thinking you're too busy to exercise--WAIT--take a look at the following 9 Time-Finding Tips:

1. PLAN YOUR DAY. The night before or early in the day, write down what you must accomplish, then prioritize your other tasks. Include among your top priorities eating well, taking your supplements, and getting some exercise. If you can't find time for a full workout today, resolve to incorporate some exercise into your other activities. For example, take the kids to the beach or to the park instead of the mall; bike to your friend's house after dinner instead of taking the car; vacuum the house tonight instead of reading magazines.
   
2. EXERCISE REGULARLY. It's easier to find time for those things we do every day than it is for those we do rarely. The exercise habit is like any other: hard to break once it's firmly established. If you're new to exercising regularly, be prepared to make the extra effort to talk yourself into choosing exercise over other time-consuming activities. Have your arguments ready; even write them down, if you must. Be prepared to argue your case. Believe me, it will get easier.
   
3. LEARN TO BE SELFISH. A recent survey found that the number-one reason women gave for not exercising is not having any time left over after meeting their responsibilities to their careers, their spouses, their kids, and the house. Once you start thinking of exercise as something you're doing for you, rather than just another among many demands on your time, it will be easier to find time.
   
4. FIND THAT "MISSING" HALF HOUR: DELEGATE. The figures are in: Women do too much. Look around your office or your home, and then make a list of daily tasks you perform that take up thirty minutes of your time. Next, think of who else could perform those tasks instead, and enlist them.
   
5. PUT YOUR EXERCISE PROGRAM IN PERSPECTIVE. Instead of thinking about how much time you don't have, think of how much time you're spending on activities that pull you away from exercise. You've got to make some choices. When it comes right down to it, what would you rather have: a kitchen floor you can see yourself in or a bathing suit you could bear to be seen in? Do you want a meticulous, color-coded client file or the energy to serve those client in less time and with a better attitude?
   
6. TURN OFF THE TUBE. Television amuses us, informs us, and relaxes us, all in the privacy of our own home. Take away its ability to entertain, educate, or distract us, and television viewing can best be summed up as 30 hours a week of sitting, including several hours of sitting and eating. What's wrong with this picture? Cut down your viewing by even half, and you've added more time to exercise than most people need in two weeks. If you do watch, try to do it while exercising (jumping on a small trampoline, or using a treadmill, cross-country ski machine, or rowing machine).
   
7. UNHOOK YOURSELF FROM THE LINE. The telephone line and the Internet line, that is. Studies have shown that on average, most of us waste at least an hour a day talking on the phone, especially when we're home alone or stuck at work. Get into the habit of watching the clock. Don't be afraid to say, "Thanks for calling, but I've got to run," or, "I'd love to chat, but now is a bad time for me. Can I call you back later?" Or even ignore the phone altogether. (I have one friend who never answers her telephone in the half hour before, after, or during dinner.) If you must talk for longer than several minutes, go cordless and walk around inside or outside as you talk. If your friend doesn't object, walk on your treadmill or pedal on your stationary bike while you talk. And train yourself to
   view the Internet less as the wonder of the age and more as an improved form of home entertainment that combines the worst antifitness aspects of television and telephones.
8. ORGANIZE THE REST OF YOUR LIFE. Start out by establishing a routine for just one day a week (for example, all housework and shopping take place on Friday) or a weekly routine for just one unavoidable chore (say, bill paying every Wednesday night). One woman I know cut her shopping and cooking time by simply declaring Monday night chicken night, Tuesday night takeout night, Wednesday night pasta night, and so on. If your major workout days will be Tuesday and Thursday, make one of those nights takeout night, and let the kids or your partner cook the other.
   
9. GET YOUR FAVORITE PEOPLE IN ON THE ACT. Instead of talking on the phone for half an hour with your girlfriend eight doors away, invite her to take a walk with you. Toss junior in his stroller, put Sissy in her wagon, or slip the collar and leash on Fido, and you're good to go.