Ditch the bedroom TV; listen to music instead. Get a comfortable eye mask. It takes getting used to, but trust me, it will allow you to sleep deeper and longer. Eat carbs such as sweet potato or jasmine rice within one hour of your workout. Make sure the first thing you do when you wake up is drink a big glass.
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Think of your body like a car: To keep progressing, enter your exercise session into your calendar as an appointment. Once you have completed the session, you can add all your training notes to your diary — what did you do, how did you feel, what distance did you cover? You are more likely to stick to your plan and improve. We often underestimate how much we eat and drink in the day.
My clients are far too busy to write a food diary or journal. Instead I ask them to take photos of what they eat and drink, and keep them on their phone to review at the end of the week. The biggest mistake is to try to change everything at once. Normally people set a couple of goals in January and by the summer they have achieved neither; this way you are more likely to manage both.
Drink two or three litres of water a day.
Fill up a two-litre bottle and keep it at your desk I squeeze a lime into mine , so you can track how much you drink. Move around often and stretch your shoulders and chest to stop your body from stooping over. Be imaginative and have fun. Being accountable to someone can really help on those days when you struggle to find motivation.
If you have a friend who also wants to train, agree times in the week to work out together. Encouragement, support and maybe a touch of competition could be just what you need. I always carry leggings, a sports bra and vest in my bag, just in case I find time to squeeze in a workout. It would be so disappointing to find time, and miss out because I had no kit. My problem is I love working at night when everyone is asleep…maybe I can get the same thing by doing it in the morning, and starting off with a run.
I really swing back and forth on willpower. But what I mean is that many people think they have little willpower when often the reality is they have little motivation to make the changes they want to make. I find that starting things off in a good way helps me stay on track. If my morning plan works.. If things get off track with an unexpected demand or something unplanned needs my attention — I can get things done but it feels like working against vs working with the flow. Appreciate the thoughtful post Jonathan. Can we say brain dead?
I agree with what you say about front loading. I often try to do the hardest task of the day first to help build momentum for the rest of the day. I find that the days I do that are usually the most productive. One thing I know I need to work on though, is recharging throughout the day.
Willpower: Why You Should Do It In The Morning
I can sit for several hours working intensely without getting up while coding or designing tasks where you can spend a lot of time very quickly. Hubby often forces me to take breaks when he sees me for too long, bless him. It is unhealthy to work and not take breaks!! I ended up with a herniated disc and another bulging one last year after a very busy year and more time in my desk chair than ever, and without taking breaks. My work is much more focused and I have less tendency to multi-task. My doggies will appreciate it too. A couple of weeks ago I started getting up at 4am and doing everything I possibly could for my business before it was time to leave for work.
While getting up early is not my cup of tea, I feel so much better knowing that the important things are already done.
This is exactly what is discussed in the book. How to be more productive and efficient at time management begins with doing the most challenging or dreaded tasks first thing in the day.
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But I certainly appreciate the other tips to try! It also distracts me, so I might throw in an extra meditation session to pull myself back into the fullness of the present instead of being so single-mindedly focused. I find that meditation also can help renew my willpower. Maybe that could help some of your readers, too. I think you rest your brain when you meditate and take power naps, both of which give you a mental energy boost so you can keep going strong throughout the day and into the night.
You are sooo right — at least for this morning person. I have seen this in my own life but on a much larger scale. You are talking about day to day reserves of willpower. What about when you deplete your entire reservoir? How do you prime the pump? My husband and I owned a small, successful retail business in what was to become the foreclosure capital of the USA.
Almost overnight our best customers abandoned the community, their houses, and of course, our business. In their place, bands of thugs roamed the shopping center like packs of wolves, waiting to pounce. It took everything we could muster to keep the company afloat until we were able to sell at much, much less than it had been worth before the crash.
This experience has made us feel so much older, so worn out, emotionally and physically exhausted. Once we were very goal focused and could spend our vacations in strategic planning sessions. I wish I knew how to even begin. Activities that become automatic through practice and repetition require much less attention and conscious control than doing something you are not familiar with.
What works for me is to front-load by getting the important things done early and first, then save the less-demanding things for later. And I agree that getting things done in the morning truly does set you up fo other wins during the day. It may be due to your attitude. I certainly believe in the power of positive thinking. Yes, absolutely I front load mornings. The day goes on…and reality creeps in. Not in a bad way, just, things happen the way they do instead of how I hoped and planned. But, every morning, I am reborn into a whole new world to go for those first few hours full speed, unencumbered.
Completely agree with your post.
Why I run: 'It's painful and boring. Afterwards, you're fully alive'
Therefore anything else is making that day even more of a success. All of best focusing time is usually in the morning and I am a night person, go figure. I can be very effective at any point in the day, however, there seem to be many more distractions as the day wears on. One thing to note is regarding the ongoing distractions throughout the day- they are usually the result of other people, and often cannot be pushed aside at least in my line of work.
My clients have a certain schedule ers , and it often takes some of them a few hours to get warned up in the morning. It also makes me feel good for the rest of the day if I have achieved something right away when I wake up. Especially if the commitment takes you towards a goal. As for tackling the hardest tasks first thing in the morning… well I prefer to do an enjoyable task an easy win which gives that nice boost of momentum to start the day. My 40 year running habit began with late afternoon runs. It might be that 33 years of firefighting, jumping up and down several times a night permanently altered my bio clock.
This is a lesson I must need to learn over and over again! Working out at the gym is very important to me. When I start my day with a workout, I feel incredible!
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So yes, for me—morning workouts are essential. Thank you for the putting this in front of me again. Eat a live toad first thing in the morning after my workout. No, because I suffer from procrastination, which actually stems from multitasking, which is one of the great maladies of the modern age… which is actually an entirely different discussion.
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Finally, I feel re-validated with my crazy habit of waking up at 4: No matter how much I try, my willpower does seem to ebb and flow and the pattern does seem to jive in with what you describe but not always. I think our moods have a lot to do with it as well as the particular task at hand. We may have very low willpower for getting a promotion if we feel sour about work but high willpower to get in shape before a trip to Greece.
Initial drive is set with purpose and intention for that particular goal. In general, I get up very early but prefer yoga later in the day because my body is not awake enough to enjoy it. I think it varies for me but I love the early mornings. That much I agree with totally. I was very interested to read about music though; this is the second time this week I read about using music as a helping hand when trying to get things done.
Also, the more I have to use my brain with problem-solving, brainstorming, and analytical thinking, the quicker my willpower tank is depleted. I think I tend to reward myself with TV, a drink, or dessert after such brain activity. But you are right about having more willpower right after you wake up. Morning is always the best time for me to have the willpower. Oftentimes I would wake up with ideas and I would just jump right into it before I forget or get caught up with other unexpected tasks.
I believe in putting the big pieces in first, but I do think body clock plays into this well. The earlier I get up, the slower I move!
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If I slowly move toward my water exercise class, though, I do get more done right afterward. Those are the times I need to avoid getting sidetracked by social media, email, etc. But sometimes great willpower is needed to be able to do the difficult steps that lead to a desirable result. For example, for an introvert, getting out and networking can be not-so-fun, yet doing it leads to desirable opportunities to do more of the work I love to do!