It is unfortunately all too easy in a hectic life to prioritise other things over our fitness, and often this is with good reason. The welfare of our family, for example, is always going to be more important than getting time in at the gym. However, there are also things in our lives that needed to be tempered by our own discipline. We need to be able to down tools and push ourselves to get on the treadmill.

One of the great things about being in a busy workplace is that we have so many people that can act as a kind of guardian for our fitness. If someone is making a coffee and cakes run to the local bakery, there is no reason why we cannot ask them to withhold our treats until we have got out at lunchtime and gone on a half hour run. Similarly, if we know our own discipline is shaky, then an excellent idea is to form some kind of workplace fitness group where everyone coaches and inspires each other. We may not listen to our inner voice, but it is hard to ignore six or seven other people telling us we are going to fail in our goals.

We also need to equate the notion of success with more than just whether we have done a full day of work. We need to rethink and instead of asking ourselves how many files we got through this morning, we need to think, “I did eight hours of solid work today, but how many more calories do I need to burn before I have made the day a complete success?” By linking our personal and work goals, we tie the two together in a way that means we have to do everything on the new list before we consider the day a success. No half measures.

A busy lifestyle should not be a barrier to discipline with our fitness goals. Instead, look at it as an opportunity to create fresh and exciting new challenges. Our busy lifestyles will be bolstered as our successes become bigger.