I Don’t have time?

One of the common excuses for not training or being in good physical condition is that “I don’t have time”. I am not writing this article without any understanding of how busy life gets and the need to constantly prioritise one job over another. I get it…you’re just wrong.

‘Moving with a sense of purpose’ becomes one of those annoying military sayings that is overused but more often than not, true. Getting the most out of your day means planning, and moving with purpose at all times. Showing complete dedication to the task at hand teaches more than just discipline, it transforms how effective you become with your time. It is one of the reasons why the below quote is on, and will remain on, the front page of our website:

My day currently consists of:

• 0430 Start
• 0500-0600 First Workout of the day
• 0630-0700 Breakfast and preparation for the day at hand
• 0730-1600 Work (Lunch time spent on Client programming and communication)
• 1630-1800 Second Workout of the day
• 1830-2000 Cooking dinner, cleaning and preparation for the tomorrow
• 2000-2100 Client Programming and general business tasks
• 2100-2130 Reading
• 2200 Sleep

Some will read my regular Monday-Friday schedule and think ‘Where to I spend time with my partner?’ or ‘It is easy without kids’. I would ask how many people are awake the same hours? How often do you watch TV? and Are you entirely focused at the task at hand during the day to ensure you get achieve the most out of every task?

Even though I allocate 1-1.5 hours on working out, these sessions include warm-ups/cool downs, mobility work and skill work. Ideally everyone would be able to find this amount of time throughout the day to conduct a similar amount of physical development. On extremely busy days I often find myself conducting one or two 7 minute or less workouts. Often prioritizing intensity over duration is the best method for increasing overall fitness and work capacity during time restrictive periods.

Talking to clients I find the difference in most cases is how they choose to spend their free time. Instead of spending 10 minutes to do a conditioning workout after work, they decide they are to tired and choose to watch TV instead. The hardest part of working out is being motivated enough to start; consistency in how often you do choose to workout and discipline over taking the easy option. What it ultimately comes down to is your individual determination and mental discipline; two of the best traits a soldier can have.

Are you disciplined enough to choose doing what is difficult over what is easy? If not, then I challenge you to develop you mental discipline just like you would develop any other muscle in your body; through constant use and testing. Challenge yourself to be disciplined enough to remain consistent with your physical activity and to be rigid in your approach. Consistently doing something is far better than doing nothing. After all isn’t life about living? Not about watching another persons life on TV.

To become consistent will mean making adjustments. It will require waking up 20 minutes earlier in order to have time for a run, or a gym class. You may have to start missing you favourite TV program to gain back an hour of your life. You may have to go to bed 20 minutes later. These small initial sacrifices will become part of your everyday approach to life. Your desire to watch will be diminished and replaced by a desire to achieve something more.

The truth is, the majority of the time, people are not time poor. They just make poor decisions on how to use their time effectively. Thinking that the instant gratification of time wasting activities, like watching TV, will somehow improve their situation or happiness. In reality the difficult and disciplined option of remaining focused on a productive task is more likely to bring you happiness, health, and success.

Make the Effort.