According to Sam Harris, „it is always now”. I can agree with that. But how you experience and seize time is a matter of perspective. This blog post is not a thorough discussion about time in general. Instead, I just want to share some of my observations with you.
Switch from Unfunny Training to Motivational Consistency
Take, for example, a typical workout routine: three times a week the person is sweating the hell out of the body for 45 minutes. Do you think that’s enough? This training regimen adds up to 135 minutes per week or a mere 1.33% of your weekly time. Not so much. What are we doing for the rest of the day? Going to work by a passive means of transport, sitting, wearing unhealthy shoes, taking elevators and so on. So, if you want to get in shape, you’d better turn your movement volume up and change your daily lifestyle to a more active one.
The 10 Minutes Trap
You cannot find the time for meditation practice (swap for every other short routine) even if it’s only for 10 minutes a day? I have caught myself with this ridiculous excuse quite often. One simple remedy is to listen to the podcast episode of the Tim Ferris Show with Hugh Jackman. He states, that if you find yourself in this situation, just change perspective: you would never argue that you do not find time for a shower per day. Thus, it’s simple to find the other 10 minutes for a meditation practice too if you really want it.
Yawn
I also doubt that people who say that they only need some 5 to 6 hours of sleep every day know, what their peak performance would look like if they slept the 7,5 to 8 hours which are recommended by health professionals. A good overview of this topic can be found here. If you like to spend more time you can read this book.
No Shortcuts
Unlike our fast-paced modern world suggests it tends to be useful to slow down on certain things. I call this the “no-shortcuts-rule”. When we go to the doctor’s we would like to get a treatment or medication for instant results. But maybe our body and mind try to say something very important to us by the symptoms we experience. We also buy our jeans in used optics. Because they look cool and should suggest that we are tough woodworkers spending so many hours in the outdoors. Some people tend to think that being underprepared will always pay off. Few people admit that they did not do the reading. To my understanding, these short-cuts won’t do anything good to you. Our body needs a decent amount of time to recover from a disease or a hard WOD. Our mind needs time to process new information in the learning process.
Give Yourself More Time
I think in these circumstances an extended period of time is well spent and we can benefit from a prolonged process. Consistent short-cuts will be back. And they will be discovered by smart people who look and see. Sometimes we get away with it as a little pill will help us for a sporadic headache. But chronic short-cuts will manifest themselves. At least in your mind. So, don’t cheat and take a longer and more rewarding way. I am sure it will pay off.
