Fit for Life: What NOT to Do

Fit for Life: What NOT to Do

I have a daily routine and a list of things that I know that I need to do daily.

I have a morning routine that I do every day regardless of where I am.

I wake, drink 32oz of water, take my supplements read, update my daily “to do” list and get ready to start the day.

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But this article isn’t going to give you advice on what you should be doing to improve your health, but what NOT to do to improve your productivity.

 

These are things that I have ingrained in my routine and try to make it a priority and NOT do them during the week.

 

Here is my list:

 

I don’t binge or eat a lot of junk food during the week.

The exceptions are rare. My birthday, and maybe during the holidays, I slip up and indulge, but as a habit I avoid refined sugar, processed foods, gluten, dairy, and anything else that will throw me off my routine. The weekends are a different story. I eat what I crave, then get right back to business on Monday. I feel that if you stick to your routine 80-90% of the time, you will always be fit and healthy.

 

I avoid alcohol during the week.

I am not much of a drinker anyway, and have maybe 1-2 drinks monthly, but even before covid hit & I went to networking events during the week, I would always opt for water. I see people throwing back drinks on a Tuesday and wonder how productive or how much energy they have the next day. When you fight the temptation, you always wake the next morning with a sense of victory, and when you don’t, you will most likely wake with regret, because you will feel like crap the next morning.

 

Never sacrifice my sleep.

I know what time I need to wake up the following morning, and I go to bed 8 hours before. No exceptions.

When we sleep, the magic happens. Our bodies and minds hit the reset button and get rejuvenated, and this is something we should never sacrifice. There is nothing worth missing your sleep over. Most of the time it’s senseless tv or internet time that causes folks to stay up too late, and in my opinion, there isn’t a tv show worth missing sleep over. Especially in the DVR, and on demand days when you can watch what you want when you want to.

 

Hit the snooze button in the morning.

When I set an alarm, it goes in the closet so when it goes off, I need to get out of bed to shut it off. Once I am up, there is no going back to bed for the 9-minute snooze cycle. When you hit the snooze button, several things happen. First, you won’t gain any quality sleep because you will lay there full of anxiety and anticipation, hoping you don’t oversleep, or thinking of the obstacles you need to face during the day.

 

If you were excited about attacking the day, you wouldn’t prolong it.

 

Second, it puts you behind the eight-ball. You will hit it 2-3 times, and then need to scramble to get to work on time. This usually results in lack of meal prep and organizing your day.  

 

Third, you start the day with a loss, because you made a commitment to yourself to get up at a certain time, and you broke your promise first thing in the morning. Hit snooze is like having one more drink at the bar, you always regret it and feel bad later. Get up, make your bed, and start the day with a win!!

 

Miss a workout.

Death in the family, Covid, busy day, traveling, it doesn’t matter. Nothing will cause me to miss a workout. I have scheduled days off, but I will never get sidetracked and miss a workout. Injuries, and illness are the only exceptions.

 

Being tired or busy isn’t. I have made this part of my lifestyle, and I like how I feel too much to let it slip away. It is something that everyone should make mandatory not only for aesthetic reasons, but to improve your health and wellness. Are there times that I don’t feel like it? Hell yea. Almost every day. Im not going to lie, spending time to physically put yourself through a tough and rigorous situation isn’t my idea of fun. But ill tell you this, it feels amazing to get it done, and you will never walk out of the gym regretting you got your workout in.

 

However, every day you miss, you will regret, especially if you experience health issues due to controllable ailments.

 

Get sucked into social media, talk politics, religion, or argue opinions.

I scroll and spend time on social media for business purposes, not for fun. 90% of what I post pertains to health and fitness, or mindset and self-improvement. I don’t care what your political views are, and I'm not disclosing mine. There are times to share, and there are times to keep things to yourself. Having debates or getting sucked into what everyone else is doing is a waste of valuable time, and I try to avoid it at all costs. If I see a friend’s post, I will like it, or if I see that someone is suffering a loss, I will send my condolences, but to get sidetracked and spend hours isn’t very productive. I think it is a great tool when used properly, but I also know it causes distractions and wastes a lot of time that could be spent more effectively.

 

Play victim, the blame game or be down in front of others.