Make time for this. You’ll thank yourself. Photo courtesy of Ash Boddy
It used to be that there were always excuses why I couldn’t/shouldn’t exercise today. It was hard to stick to a regular exercise routine, and I felt like I was always starting back at square one. I would get to the end of the day, and I’d be exhausted. The last thing I wanted to do was hit the gym.
The most common reason was this: I was busy. I was so busy, that I couldn’t even get anything on my to-do-list done. Then I discovered this one remarkable principle that changed my life.
It used to be that there wasn’t a day that went by that I didn’t field a torrent of excuses from clients telling me why they didn’t find time to exercise that week. Why was their life so different/special/unique that they couldn’t eat properly, sleep properly, or manage themselves properly? These were the same excuses that stopped me from doing the same.
How was I supposed to help them when I couldn’t even help myself?
So what changed my life? The realization that I was the biggest obstacle in my way.
“There is no such thing as a lack of motivation – only a lack of action”
Derren Brown, Tricks of the Mind
Point is, I can write you the best exercise program in the world, but if you don’t do it, you won’t improve. You have to make time for it. Not only that, you have to be consistent. Sound obvious? Well, it is. But that’s the hard part. Making time. We all have the same amount of time. It is just a question of how you value your time when you allocate chunks of it to your daily activities.
Many people don’t value physical exercise, or even surfing, over time spent at work. Surfers feel guilty for spending time chasing their passion. For me, time spent in the water is never wasted.
Even if the waves are crap, or it’s crowded, or I spend my whole time duck-diving because it’s blown out, I’ll always learn something that I can take back, reflect on, and put back into my work.
For example, when I paddle into a wave that’s a little outside my comfort zone, I find this transfers directly into the other areas of my life: I’m more willing to try new strategies in my business, or take the risk to contact someone who might be able to help me. Relentless duck diving is a lesson in learning to recover rapidly, to control my breathing, and to focus my attention before the next set comes and I need to perform.
You may also find that when you stop making the effort to solve a problem and really let your mind detach from it, you can gain amazing insights when you least expect it.
Batch your day, be relentless
Planning is the key. You need to take 10-15 minutes at the end of every working day to create a plan for the next one. You need to have that plan before you wake up.
“When you leave it to the last minute, it only takes a minute.” -Stephen Mencshelyi
When you allocate time to being truly productive, and you remove all other distractions, how much work could you get done? If you had a priority list of four things to get done that day, and you didn’t speak to anyone, you didn’t check your email, you didn’t open your social media, all you did was put your head down and crack on, how much could you get done? When I ask my clients this, their answer is normally, “all of it.”
When I ask them, “so what’s stopping you,” they normally can’t answer. The answer is simple, quite often, you are the reason why.
Sure, your boss may have other ideas, there are always fires to manage, but will that ever change? And if you held the spotfires at bay for just a few hours, how much more productive could you be? How much time would this free up for you to look after yourself, to structure time in your day to do the things you really value? Not just that, but how much more in-control of your life would you feel? If you have the courage to try this, you will be shocked at how much of a change this makes.
Tim Ferris, in my personal opinion, is the master of lifestyle design. If you are interested in learning tools and techniques for dealing with this in an office environment, check out his groundbreaking book The Four Hour Work Week. Beware, it may change your life.
So what?
If you do what you have always done, you will get what you have always got. Sometimes it takes a radical shift in thinking, and a spring clean of your life to make lasting change.
1. If you are an all-or-nothing person (like me), then check out my “The Complete Package.” This will give you exercise, food, and lifestyle ideas to start getting.
2. Make a plan to structure your day. I recommend making a morning routine, work routine, and evening routine. Make sure some time is allocated to looking after your body and your mind. This can be 20-30 minutes. I don’t care how busy you think you are.
3. Control what you can control, and be flexible with what you can not.
4. Make time in your day to choose to be reactive. This means plugging back into the madness, checking and responding to your email and social media. Then don’t let yourself do it any other time of the day.
5. Master your mobile phone. If you want to stay present, and engaged in your daily architecture, switch off the notifications on your mobile phone. Don’t let your email run in the background of your computer.
Make time for the things in life that will help you surf better. Make time for good food, for quiet time to stretch, for exercise to prepare your body, or actually surfing!
If you would like to see how I structure my day, simply send me an email at ash@weekendsurfwarrior.com.
Till next time, hooroo
