We strive to achieve more as we take on new responsibilities, compounded by our expectations and desires to bring the best to every opportunity.
The 14 hour days out of the home or even in the home but isolated to a computer.
We seek every opportunity to scrape what little moments we have to be present, only to be distracted by what pulls us.
iPhones, watches, Teams, WhatsApp, children, office conversations, deadlines, new problems we have to cope with...
There is an ever evolving need to meet the demands of doing things alone:
- Training
- Personal, professional or business development
- Testing new training and keeping up with nutrition
- Clear visions of what you want
- The reputation
We might build all of the skills and habits, use the calendars and organisational tools we like but if we cannot bring our best because we have nothing left to give, it falls on poor foundations.
Here are tips to work smarter and get the best results.
KNOW THAT WHAT YOU STRIVE FOR SUPPORTS YOU
Ikigai is a Japanese concept that refers to the reason for being or the purpose of life.
It is the intersection between what you love, what you are good at, what the world needs, and what you can be paid for.
It is the balance between passion, mission, profession, and vocation.
Finding your ikigai means finding a fulfilling and meaningful life.
If you were to strip back everything you do in life right now, there will be things you would undoubtedly keep, remove, have and need to do or even have or do out of habit with no real thought.
We have an opportunity every single day to improve, yet that balance gets skewed by what pulls us.
Using ikigai we can question those areas. Surviving and being dragged through a job that you labour for money Vs one you thrive and be excited by are two completely different responsibilities and emotional outcomes.
Do you train to perform or is it because you're afraid of what might happen if you rest?
The exact same applies to training, nutrition, prepping, socialising and our experiences.
Is what you're doing positively reinforced or coming from a place of negative / aversive removal?
You will achieve far greater success from the positive.
PRINCIPLES AND ACCOUNTABILITY THAT YOU WILL NOT MOVE ON
These are basic foundations of your wellbeing - do not look at this with your ego - your best is supported and compounded by the fundamentals of great health.
We use our training to change a lot of our behaviours but in reality it works in the opposite direction.
Our beleif may be:
'Someone who trains, eats well, sleeps deeper, goes to bed on time, feels confident and strong.
The reality is:
'I feel confident and strong because I am happy, pain free, I'm not tired because I rest, I'm not craving or exhausted because I sleep deeply. That allows me to train hard'
We sleep deeply and feel refreshed
We are pain free and move well
We are happy
We have quality appetite, hunger and digestion
We don't fall tired and drained
We feel confident and strong
Therefore, we can train.
What will you not move on in support of the fundamentals of your wellbeing?
Do you nourish the body with quality food, hydration, sleep, enough calories and the recommended fuel for your demands?
Are you using supplementation to cover gaps in your energy, health, pain and wellbeing where we know you're making shortcuts?
Is that amount of caffeine daily because you cannot function without it?
Improving your health brings your presence and best to all occasions and that may need assistance in accountability.
The standards you have in place around your habits and behaviours, who put them there? Can you uphold them even when everything is against you?
The needs of YOUR HEALTH are priority, they come first. Plan them in and they will never be compromised.
BUSY NOW, FREE LATER, MAXIMISE TIME & FOCUS
Discipline and determination will provide for you.
A true hero of mindset and beleif, Muhammad Ali has been quoted time and time again but adds to the values of work ethic.
I hated every minute of training, but I said, ‘Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.' - Muhammad Ali
Nike even use the anacronym HWPO
HARD
WORK
PAYS
OFF
We believe that the relentless demand to win, even if you fail along the way, is high performance.
This transpires into our lives.
I want to be a great parent, I have to be present when I'm home.
I want to be a great leader for my company, I need creative vision.
I want that place on the podium, I have to be focused and not distracted in my training.
That's why we align with HMN24 brand and use their supplement range with clients. They allow hard work, creativity and presence in all areas of life, not just your time in the gym.
The time to do the work has to be scheduled and committed to. When we don't, that work travels over into our personal lives or opportunities for other projects and learning.
Doubling and tripling the workload robs your work-life-training balance.
Have a schedule, use a calendar and importantly, stick to it.
Add the time you need to be early, and on time, we work from the second the clock strikes.
Don't get distracted, stay focused, turn off notifications and recognise that conduscive work environment.
Can you maximise 'dead' time?
Travel and commuting can be opportunities for phone calls or on public transport, utilise digital technology to organise, write, check in and organise your day?
If you struggle to cook, order prepared meals in that downtime.
If you forgot your meals, check menus, (we give our clients eatery guides and full eating out guidance geographically located to them) find solutions.
Remembering we labour energy intake at the fundamental of physical and mental goals, the rest can be resolved.
When it is time to train - you are training - training is work, watch the rest times, act on the programming notes, study that information before you arrive so the phone does not enter the gym.
Pen and paper is old-fashioned but it's also not reminding you of meetings or asking what's for dinner.
BIG CHALLENGES NEED ADEQUATE SUPPORT
Support and challenge proposes that high performance is achieved when we acquire a high level of support for our high level of challenge.
We get caught up believing that we need to do everything ourselves. In fear of not meeting demands we add more and more and end up drained.
What we really need to do is get smart about 'giving up' and finding assistance.
There is only so much any one of us can do, research shows that if we work over 50 hours a week, then we end up with poor quality work and if we work over 70 hours a week we end up having to redo that work again.
When you keep adding more in, it will change the quality of what you bring to what you already have/do.
Instead, what do you need to give up?
If cooking and preparing shopping and weighing out all of your food takes up a considerable amount of time, where your efforts could be placed with your family, then start to find solutions.
If you're paid very well in your professional role, how much is that per hour?
Now how long does it take to:
Plan your food/macros
Get in the car, travel, shop, return home.
Put the shopping away.
Cook and measure out.
Wash up.
Pack your meals.
You are an expensive delivery driver, chef and prep company. Supermarkets will do that for free.
For those who struggle, I work with Precision Prep to assist in acquiring high quality meals that are delicious and save time.
It saves you money, time, effort and gives you freedom in your downtime.