1-2-3 Sundays: Time Blocking, The Brain & To-Do Lists

1 Theme

Waiting And Waiting

I had a conversation with someone this week who asked what I'd got up to the previous weekend.

I told them about going out running and going for a Sunday morning walk. They seemed surprised. Their weekend was based around chilling out and relaxing (which there's nothing wrong with, our course).

It was the next sentence that stuck with me.

"I think I'll wait until the summer before I start doing outdoor stuff".

They were willing to wait another 3-4 months for some warmer weather that's not even guaranteed in Scotland.

To me, this represents the poor relationship humans have with the shortness of life. 3 weeks is short in the bigger picture however those 3 months could also be a pivotal time.

It's when you could commit to developing new habits you've always wanted or focus on improving your health.    

Simply, waiting for a better time is wasting time. And it's something we as humans are remarkably good at.

People are frugal in guarding their personal property; but as soon as it comes to squandering time they are most wasteful of the one thing in which it is right to be stingy - Seneca

What you do today reaps the rewards of tomorrow.

2 Positive Outcomes

Recovery

One of the most underlooked aspects of running.

Especially when you're running 2-3 times per week.

The phase I'm currently in has 3 runs each week:

• Intervals
• Tempo
• Long trail run

The first 2 sessions are treated as normal however the day before the trail run, my nutrition protocol changes slightly.

Carb loading increases the stores of glycogen in the body above normal levels. This ensures you're adequately fuelled for longer distances.  

Afterwards, replenishing the calories is important too as the body will now be depleted of glycogen. Again, higher amounts of carbs.

To further boost my recovery, a cold bath becomes necessary.

Time Blocking

If you're unfamiliar with this, it's when you put an hour in your calendar for a task to get done in the time specified.

I utilised this massively this week as it was a busy week at work. It's helped the progression of several work projects recover from being stagnant.

The main benefit is it obeys Parkinson's Law - work expands to fill the time allotted for its completion.

If you set an hour for a task, more effort will be applied to get it done in the hour.  

3 Things I've Learned

The Power Of The Brain

I'm currently reading The Body: A Guide For Occupants by Bill Bryson.

It's a fascinating book explaining everything about the human body and how it operates.

The brain produces more information in 30 seconds of sedentary movement than the Hubble Space Telescope has processed in over 30 years.

If you needed reminding of how powerful your brain is then this is it.  

The Need For Input

One of my favourite things to do after a workout is to go for a sauna.

It's my 10-15 minutes to relax and be present before I get ready to go to work.

Recently, I've been noticing more guys in the sauna wearing earphones. One of which I could hear what they were listening to.

While this may have disturbed my mindful time, there are bigger questions to answer.

1. Have attention spans decreased to the point where we literary cannot do anything without some form of input?
2. Are an increasing number of people unable to sit with themselves for 10 minutes?

I'd be interested to know whether this is a subconsciously driven activity or whether these people need it to avoid the thoughts in their heads.

A More Effective To-Do List

Ticking off tasks from a list feels good.

The question to ask yourself though is - are these the most important tasks I should be completing?

A 10-item can be reduced to 3 with exponential impact on what you are trying to achieve at a higher level.

This avoids the trap of getting stuck doing lower impact tasks which make you feel good.

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