Bonjour. In this video, I want to discuss one simple little daily habit, simple but important and even more important during Covid.
I am in my driveway and I have just finished what I call my little daily sweat. Why am I sharing this?
This morning, I was doing a session called ‘Lead in Life’ with a group from the US. ‘Lead in Life’ is one of the last sessions of a four-month journey to challenge their work habits. Today the focus of the session was not on work habits but personal habits. We discussed how the principles we had practiced over the last four months are just as important if not more so at a personal level: planning, focus, routines…
One of the topics we discussed was energy, i.e. what gives you a lot of energy and what drains your energy. Consequently ,this lead to a discussion on the importance of being active whether it be going to the gym, swimming, walking or other forms of exercise.
Keeping active is already a challenge for many people but it is even more of a challenge during these unprecedented times. Gyms are closed, many people are confined to their house with little opportunity to go outdoors. Therefore keeping active is not as straightforward as it seems.
My suggestion: a little daily sweat.
Let’s discuss Why? What? and How?
Why? For me it is about short term and long -term energy. Keeping active every day means I have more energy during the day. However, it also means I will keep fit and have more energy when I get older.
A word of caution: trying to build a habit based solely on motivation is actually very hard. Motivation is the less reliable factor when it comes to building a new habit. So, let’s talk about what and how?
What? Make it simple and easy. For keeping active daily, ensure you chose something that is attainable and realistic, so you end up achieving it. For example, commit to doing a 5 to 10-minute form of exercise per day. Go online, there are plenty of 10-minute training routines. It doesn’t have to be perfect. Just do it.
Now you might find that once you start you want to push it to 20 minutes. Great. Today I did 45 minutes, so it was more of a big daily sweat. Do not feel bad if you only do 10 minutes. Make it easy. commit to it.
How? Anchor it in your diary. You could anchor it to a specific time of day. For example, you decide to do it straight after waking up. For me it is every day at 4pm but for my wife TK, it is first thing in the morning. Just find something that works for you.
You probably think of me as someone who challenges people in managing their time. To be honest I think managing your energy is very important as well, and this is what we practice at the end of the journey. If you know anyone who feels swamped or out of control at work, and the stress is starting to impact their personal life. Then ask them to reach out to me. This is what I love doing, helping high performers who are swamped get control back of their life.
Have a great day.
A bientôt
Cyril
