If you’ve got work or family commitments, it’s easy to put Exercise on the back burner. But, even with the busiest of schedules, there are plenty of ways to find time to exercise. Here are some of them.

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Watching TV

Burn some calories while watching your favourite box set on TV, simply by carrying out exercises that can be performed while sitting on a chair or sofa. Knee tucks, tricep holds and leg raises are worthy examples. Plus, when the adverts come on, don’t waste time wishing they’d hurry up. Instead, expend some energy by jogging on the spot or performing Star Jumps. If you manage 40 star jumps, that’s 100 calories slashed in one advert break alone.

Fill in the waiting gaps

Whether you’re Waiting for the kettle to boil, a meal to cook or a bath to fill with hot water, use this time to sneak a few exercises in. Push-ups, squats and lunges are all good ones to try and don’t take long to carry out, for example. Think about any other activities you might perform around the house, or even at work, and how you can fill any waiting gaps with a few exercises.

Identify time wasters

If you haven’t got time to exercise, it could just be that you need to organise your time better. Identify any activities that you do during the day that waste time or that you could cut down on, such as checking your phone or emails. Write to-do lists so that you plan tasks better, and delegate jobs to other family members to share the load, if needs be. By getting more organised, you’ll quickly gain more free time to fit in a few calorie-burning moves.

Make sure you prioritise exercising when writing a to-do list. Even if you allocate 5-10 minutes of activity, if it’s written down and waiting to be ticked off, you’re more likely to get it done than pushing it to the back of your mind.

Active socialising

If you enjoy a busy social life with friends and family, find ways that incorporate an active element into the occasion next time you meet up. Instead of going for a meal and drinks in a pub, why not suggest a stroll or bike ride followed by a picnic? Even a shopping trip can get those calories burning, as you sniff out a bargain or two – and while you’re at it, take the stairs in shops rather than the lift or elevator!

Use your lunch break wisely

If your lunch break consists of browsing friends’ updates on social media sites while eating a sandwich, get up of your chair and take a power walk around the block, instead. By the time you get back, you might even have burned off your sarnie.

Go manual

Today’s world is populated by machines and gadgets that do many tasks for us. While they offer great convenience, they can make us lazy. If you want to easily incorporate a bit of physical activity into your daily routines, shun the devices and do things by hand instead. Whether that involves ditching the remote controls or smart devices and getting up to turn things on or off yourself, or using hand tools rather than power ones, you’ll soon awaken seldom-used muscles, while still getting essential tasks done.

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