Few preventative measures for improving health outcomes are as beneficial as regular exercise. Not only does your daily workout decrease your risk of heart attack and stroke, exercise can help you feel less stressed, think more clearly, combat fatigue and maintain a healthy weight.

However, today people are busy and jam pack their schedules with little time to spare between work and social functions; even for an hour-long workout. This is why you have to actively strategize to keep your body moving and keep deriving exercise’s benefits. Here’s how to do it:

Wake up early

Create islands of time in your day to dedicate to your heart, aiming for 4 cardio workouts a week. If you don’t have a chunk of time to spare, try waking up a half-hour earlier. Maybe Monday, Wednesday and Friday are cardio, coupled with a sweat session on Saturday morning before you relax over the weekend.

Multitask while relaxing

If you generally unwind to music or a TV show, add in a layer of exercise to boost the effects. Light weight work, planks, crunches, push-ups, stretching and yoga can all be completed as you dig into your DVR or listen to your favorite playlist.

Break up your workday

Use your breaks wisely and ditch your desk lunch a few times each week. Research shows that walking 2 minutes per hour instead of sitting can lead to a 33% decreased risk of death. Stretch your legs by taking a quick lap around the office and take a walk to a nearby café or sandwich shop for lunch.

Sweat while you socialize

Meet your friends for a jog or fitness class instead of meeting for drinks. Join a team sport to exercise both your social muscles and your real muscles. Use your social time to move!

Create a home gym

Getting to the gym regularly between work, family and social activities may be unrealistic; especially when the weather is cold. Try setting up a simple, inexpensive home gym with weights and Isokinetic bands so that you can squeeze in daily fitness without leaving the house. A stationary bike, treadmill or elliptical may be a great investment for those short on time.

A recent Harvard study analyzed data from more than 650,000 subjects and followed them for an average of 10 years. It was found depending how many minutes you exercise a week, you can add 2 to 4.5 years to your life.