Typically when we ask people why they don't work out it usually comes down to two things:
1. I don't have time.
2. I'm too tired at the end of the day/I don't have the energy.
First off...I get it.
In 2019 I don't think there are many people left who are not “busy.”
We've created a life that involves trying to cram 25 hours of work into 24 hours, and we didn't even factor in sleep.
So, here's the thing...
It's a catch 22.
The reason you're tired and don't have energy typically has something to do with no solid fitness or nutrition routine.
And because you're tired and don't have the energy you become very unproductive and reactive.
You become busy with busy work, reactive things, but never actually make any progress with anything.
You look up at the end of the day and something that should have taken an hour took eight hours because you went at it when you were tired and lacking energy.
Ok, so we get it.
We're tired, don't have energy, and need to find the time.
How do we fix it?
Well, I'm not here to "fix" you, you're not broken, so I'll just give you ten ideas that you may take action on.
1. What are the three rocks that need to get done today? Most people say yes to 1001 things, and they chip away at all of them. Execute (taking action is the most important thing) on three things. Don't overload your list of things to get done.
2. Touch it once. Meaning, don't get reactive and check a Facebook notification or an e-mail and then go back to what you're working on. Touch it once. Once you start it, you finish it.
3. Say yes to what's important to you. If exercise and your health are important to you, you need to find a way to say yes to it. That may mean a discussion with your spouse that they need to cook dinner three nights a week because you won't be home until later, or that may be a discussion with your boss that you need to leave thirty minutes early so you can sneak a workout in.
4. Exercise is an investment. Just like a financial investment, you put money in with the hope of a greater return out. You’re going to pay for it somehow, whether it’s on healthcare, medication, or on the preventative side (fitness). Once you start treating it like that you'll find the time and energy. You have to put a little in to get a lot out.
5. The most common response we get after a workout is this "I was tired and lacking energy when I came in here and now I feel great! 1% better." That's the investment piece. You're making a short term sacrifice (sneaking away for a 45-minute workout when you're tired) for a long-term gain (having more energy after). You have to put a little in to get a lot out.
6. Always remember Parkinson's Law. Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion. If you have four hours to work on something it will take four hours. If you have an hour to work on that same thing it will take an hour. Set a timer for everything. I started writing this e-mail at 6:35 and I will be done by 7:00am. That's what I set for the time frame. If I just had in mind to write an e-mail this morning, I would find 1001 distraction, circle back to it, and it might end up taking me two hours.
7. 1% Better is ever so important here. It can be a vicious cycle. You wake up tired, so you're unproductive at work which causes you stress, you didn't meal prep so you make unhealthy choices, you get behind which makes you not have time to workout, you stay up late to catch up which means you don't get enough sleep and wake up tired. If you're not careful the vicious cycle will repeat itself. All it takes is one action, 1% better, to get out of the cycle. One more hour of sleep, one workout, don't get overwhelmed, just take one action forward.
8. Eliminate distractions. The same people that say they don't have time are the same ones that know every reality TV show currently playing and the latest drama on Facebook. If you want to truly manage your time you have to be proactive, not reactive. Most people wake up and just react to what happens that day. If they're not careful they react to just checking that one notification, that one e-mail, reading that one article, watching that one scene, and although those are all little chunks, what they don't realize is throughout the course of the day those "just a minute" tasks added up to several hours. Eliminate distractions, whether that's apps on your phone, tabs on your computer, or people in your life :) (kidding, kind of)
9. Chip away it. You're not going to become Mr. or Mrs. Time Management over night. Just like any other skill, it's a skill that needs to be practiced. Pick one thing each day to work on and aim to get a little better each day.
10. Pigheaded discipline and determination. I read that line in a book. None of what you read is new. None of what I tell you, you don't already know. The difference? Action. Execution. Have pigheaded discipline and determination to fight the busyness, fight the lack of energy, and just do one thing to move the needle. Execution will always trump any great thought or idea. You have to take action.
So, hopefully, one of those resonated with you.
I know you're tired.
I know you don't have energy.
I know you're busy.
But in order to get out of that vicious cycle, you have to take one action item, do one thing, and all the sudden that one workout could be what stems into a lifelong healthy lifestyle.
I hope this one helped.
1% Better.
Dedicated to Your Success,
Doug Spurling