I'm a planner, an organizer, a scheduler. My every task, responsibility, meeting, and appointment must be written on my calendar or I'll forget where I'm headed and what I'm expected to do while there. If it weren't for the fact that I exercise every day at about the same time each day, I'd be writing my fitness schedule on that calendar too.

If you're one who can't seem to find time for exercise, scheduling this priority might be key. Putting a 30 minute walk, jog, or gym class in your daily planner might make you less likely to skip your workouts.

According to a public opinion survey by the American Dietetic Association (ADA), 84 percent of the population recognizes the importance of exercise. Yet many don't commit to it because of time constraints. With all the craziness that goes on in our lives, exercise often gets squeezed right out of the equation.

Jay Kimiecik, Ph.D., associate professor in exercise psychology at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, suggests personal trainers help their clients with the time crunch factor. "Have your client write it down and the reason(s) it's important to him or her," he advises. "When a client finds a time barrier cropping up again, he or she can refer to what was written and, hopefully, move past any self-defeating thoughts."

I suggest you give this a try too. You have little to lose, and a lot to gain.