[sidebar]Yes, exercise takes time out of your overscheduled day, but the mental boost you get from it is worth the extra effort. Staying active was shown to boost adults’ self-efficacy—a scholarly term for the “hey, I can do this” feeling. “If you get up and do a four-mile run or something, that creates this sense of, ‘wow, I did A, now I can accomplish B,’ ” says Russell Clayton, PhD, an assistant professor of management at Saint Leo University’s Donald R. Tapia School of Business. “It extends to the other areas of your life.” This doesn’t mean that busy women everywhere need to be in the gym every day, but it does mean that prioritizing fitness pays off, no matter how time-squeezed you are. “Even small amounts are good,” Dr. Clayton says. “Find exercise in life’s margins,” he suggests, such as walking at lunch or during a meeting, or closing the door of your office and doing a quick workout (like this super-effective 7-minute one). More from Prevention: 25 Easy Ways To Fit In 10 Minutes of Exercise
