You’ve got a big project at work, that social thing is happening soon, your children have a ton of commitments that’s consuming your time too, or you’ve got a lot of travel on the horizon.

“I’ll start tomorrow ... or perhaps next week. Right now is just not a good time.”

These are just a handful of the excuses I’ve heard over the years for why getting in shape is impossible to do.

So today, please don’t hate me, but I’m going to dish a little bit of tough love.

What I’m about to say, I mean with the best of intentions, so by the end of this article, I hope we can still be friends?

You see, that perfect moment you’ve been waiting for, that clear space you hope will magically appear in your schedule, that you envisage as the right time for you to start working on your health and fitness, it simply doesn’t exist.

Something will always come up, there will always be an obstacle in the way, a reason why you can’t start now or why the timing is all wrong.

There are literally countless excuses you can call on, and they’re not going anywhere.

But the truth is, we all need to work on our health and fitness, no one is an exception to this rule.

This doesn’t mean we all need to be doing exactly the same workout routine or following the same nutrition programme; we’re all different, and have different needs and circumstances. But looking after the health and fitness of our bodies is not something we ‘maybe’ need to do. Each of us need to take responsibility and understand that if we want to feel and look our best, then it’s an absolute necessity.

I sympathise, honestly I do, because I know how busy you are.

Life is one crazy, hectic journey and juggling everything is not an easy task.

But it’s for this exact reason, we need to be making our health a priority, wouldn’t you agree? So instead of waiting for that mythical perfect moment to occur, I urge you to take some imperfect action right now, and just start.

Get moving this evening or get up in the morning and get it done.

It doesn’t have to be difficult or complicated: go for a walk, bike ride, run on the beach or find an online workout video you can do at home.

Then do the same the next day.

Remember, results come from consistent daily actions, not procrastination.

Take some time this evening to look at your schedule and figure out when you can exercise and decide what you’re going to do.

Actually, write it down; make it an official appointment so you don’t try and worm your way out of it later.

Commit to putting in the effort and be disciplined about sticking to it. If you know you may struggle or slip, enlist the support of a coach or accountability buddy to help you stay on track. This can be a big help.

I’m not saying any of this will be easy, but if you’re tired of hearing yourself complain about not feeling and looking your best, only you can decide to do something about it.

And if you’re still waiting for that perfect moment, I can tell you, it’s not coming anytime soon.

Just make the best effort you can in the situation you’re currently in. Take each day one at a time and don’t stop. Imperfect action is better then none.