According to Dr. Andy Galpin, there are primarily two reasons that people fail to reach their fitness goals.

1) Lack of adherence

2) Lack of progressive overload

These two issues can be solved by following his 10-step system for designing an optimal fitness program, which he discussed last year on the Huberman Lab Podcast.

Preparation

Grab your favorite notebook, piece of paper, or digital document.  I use a tool called Obsidian to manage much of my life.

System Steps

1. Define a SMART Goal

SMART goals are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and timely goals. Defining SMART goals is a core step in most systems I have discussed in this newsletter because we all have different needs, wants, and desires. Goal setting will help you identify what you want to achieve but defining SMART goals will help you achieve them more quickly and ensure they are in alignment with your overall values and priorities.

It’s difficult to achieve desired results without knowing what results are desired.  Imagine getting in a car and driving around aimlessly.  You may eventually get to a place that you like and is interesting but it will likely take a while to get there.  A better approach is to take some time to figure out where you are, where you want to be, when you want to arrive, and an optimal route to get there.

Take some time to define a SMART goal for your fitness for the next quarter.  I prefer goal setting in quarters because it’s long enough that you can see significant results but not so long that it’s too difficult to stay motivated.

Example: Lose 2% body fat while maintaining lean muscle mass over the next 12 weeks.

2. Identify Your Defender

What are or will be the things in your life that will stop you from achieving your goal? In this step, we need to come up with a plan to defend against those obstacles.  Examine your lifestyle and work schedule. Do you struggle with consistency? Perhaps you don’t know what training to do to reach your goal. Write down the obstacles that are standing in your way. We each have non-negotiable aspects of our lives that are always going to take priority over our fitness regimen. These could be related to your job, your family, or anything else. Identify and write down what your nonnegotiables are.

The reason that picking up a random fat loss or strength training plan off the internet doesn’t typically work is because they don’t address your points of failure, which are highly individual. Instead, your program should be chosen and tailored to address the reasons you will likely fail or have failed in the past. This doesn’t mean that your fitness program isn’t going to take hard work but it is critical to defend against anything that has the potential to derail you. For example, let’s say that your afternoons are filled with meetings for work and your evenings are spent with your family. Some people would still be successful working out in the later evening but I would wager that most would not be. A good defender against a schedule like this is to always schedule workouts during the work week before lunch.

Take a pass through your list of obstacles and identify a strategy to defend against each one.

Examples:

Obstacle: Lifting is boring
Defender: Perform more interesting movements like Olympic lifts, compound exercises, circuits, etc.  You don’t need to adhere to an isolation split to achieve the results you are looking for.

Obstacle: Hectic work schedule
Defender: Schedule workouts before work or work out less frequently during the week and more frequently on the weekends.

After you have identified your defender for each obstacle, it is critically important to print this list and put it in an area related to your obstacles where it is highly visible.  If work tends to get in the way and you work at a computer, then taping it to your computer monitor would be perfect.

3. Goal Timeframe and Life Events

It’s really common to adopt an intense training program and then fail because we didn’t account for major deadlines, vacations, and events. Make sure that all of these events are accounted for in your training calendar. Ensure that your goal timeline is realistic and achievable.

4. Training Frequency and Duration

Based on your schedule and life events, identify a conservative number of training sessions and session duration that you can reasonably accommodate.  It is important to err on the side of less initially and either add more as you realize you can accommodate more or add more during less hectic weeks. Adding an extra workout feels great while missing a workout will wear you down mentally and create a feeling of failure.

5. Exercise Selection

Choose exercises that you are comfortable doing and that you know how to do safely.  If you’ve never done Olympic lifts, deadlifts, squats, bench presses, etc then now is not the time to experiment without first seeking in-person instruction from a knowledgeable trainer.

Balance movement patterns/muscle groups across the week so that you target the entire body each week. Be sure to target the muscle group/movement related to whatever goal you are working towards at least once per week.

6. Exercise Order

It’s best to do the most important things first in each workout and do the most important workouts first in the week. An exception to this would be if there is a day where you are more likely to get the workout in or a day where you will be better rested.

7. Intensity/Load

Create a strategy for progressive overload by increasing the weight, reps, speed, heart rate zone,  or distance of each exercise or movement you are performing. Increasing around 3-5% in weight, reps, speed, or distance each week will generally work well. This is another area where seeking the help of a credible trainer would be valuable.

8. Volume

Volume needs to be tailored toward the goal and desired adaptation.  This could mean more sets/reps, more workouts, or more distance per workout.  If you aren’t aware of a good starting point then it is best to consult a credible trainer or start with something very manageable.

9. Rest Intervals

You should choose the rest intervals that are appropriate for the intention of each workout.  The following guidelines tend to work well:

 2-5 minutes for power, speed, and strength

 1-3 minutes for hypertrophy

 15-90s for endurance

10. Chaos Management

Take a look at your finished fitness program and try to identify any holes and potential points of failure.  Adjust your defenders, schedule, and workouts as necessary.  It’s ideal to come up with solutions before starting the program but you can also incorporate a feedback loop every few weeks to make slight scheduling adjustments.

Case Study

Over the years I have worked with fitness coaches in and out of CrossFit gyms, worked with personal trainers, and have also paid for personalized programming. They have all subscribed to a similar protocol for building an effective fitness program but without critical steps 2 and 3 which led to many years of me failing to achieve my desired results until I finally created a schedule that worked for me.

The past year I have enjoyed using an app called PUSH. I am not affiliated with them in any way but love how just by providing the equipment I have available, my fitness level, how frequently I am willing to work out, any muscle groups I want to focus on, and it will generate a 12-week comprehensive lifting program with progressive overload built in.  It’s not perfect and tends to increase the weight too aggressively at times but it’s very easy to correct if you have some lifting experience.

My primary fitness goal for Q1 of 2024 is running focused.  I’m planning to run a 1:29 Half Marathon following a very recent 1:34.  I’m using a customized version of this training plan as I am an experienced runner with a high weekly base mileage already and my race is only 9 weeks out.

Luckily, I have already identified my defenders and they are primarily schedule and energy-related.  For me, the best time to run is around lunchtime during the week and in the morning on the weekend. The best time to lift is as a morning break between working sessions, generally around 8 am.

Final Thoughts

This system resonated with me because I had to learn it the hard way, through years of trial and error. Hopefully, this article will save someone some time. The entire guest series with Dr. Andy Galpin is packed with information related to exercise science and physiology. It is excellent and I highly recommend listening to it.

You can watch it here:

P.S. I’m currently looking for 2 more businesses to participate in our Slipstream beta program. We will help you identify, document, and systemize your core processes in Slipstream and give you an extended free trial (6 months!). Drop me a message on LinkedIn if you are interested!

How we finish our week is just as important as the routines and systems that we have built to maximize each day.  While our morning, daily, and evening routines are the keys to consistently showing up every day, it is critical to take some time each week to reflect on how the previous week went, review our systems, and plan for the week ahead.  Without this opportunity to refine and plan, we break the iterative approach that allows us to evaluate how we are doing and improve.

Preparation

Grab your favorite notebook, piece of paper, or digital document.  I personally use a tool called Obsidian to manage much of my life.

System Steps

1. Pick your review day

This would generally be Monday morning, Friday afternoon, Saturday or Sunday.  Choose whatever day works best for your schedule.

2. Measure progress

How are you progressing toward your goals?  Adjust your scorecard(s) accordingly.  While results are great (lagging indicators), we only have control over our inputs (leading indicators) so it’s best to track as many of these as we can to determine if they are having a positive effect on our results.  For example, if you are trying to lose weight, you would not only want to track the number on the scale but also your calories consumed, macronutrients, days of adherence, etc so that you can determine what needs tweaking.

3. Evaluate your previous week

Each week, on your review day, spend some time thinking about how your week went.  What went well? What didn’t go well? Did you consistently execute your systems and routines?  What issues did you face? Were the issues within your control? If so, what do you plan to do differently next week? Are there any parallels with your recent week-end evaluations?  Write all of this down in your document.

4. Adjust your systems and routines

Based on your progress and evaluation for the previous week, do you need to adjust any of your systems and routines? Perhaps you overslept a couple of days and need to start your bedtime routine a bit earlier? Perhaps the time you had planned to exercise isn’t working out because work or life keeps getting in the way. This is the most subjective part of the process but also extremely important.  If you failed to do something the reasons could be highly variable.  A good place to start your analysis is to make sure you have a compelling reason for doing the thing that you want to do and reduce friction as much as possible.  You can read more about doing this here.

5. Set a focus for the week ahead

If there were things that didn’t go well last week that were within your control then it is probably a good idea to focus on correcting them in the week ahead.  Make that focus a theme for your week to get things back on track.  If things are going well, you can keep your existing focus or decide you want to progress in a different area by starting or refining a system or habit.

6. Plan for the week ahead

A great week starts by having a great plan that is in alignment with your vision, goals, and values.  A great productivity strategy is to structure your day with deep work time blocks that will allow you to focus on different types of work based on when you are most capable of doing that type of work.  You can read more about how to do this here.  Each week evaluate your task list and schedule tasks into your deep work blocks on your calendar.  This way, when it is time to execute, you don’t have to try to figure out what you should be working on.  You just show up and execute.

Final Thoughts

Just like a great morning routine starts the night before, a great week starts the week before.  Each week, we have the opportunity to course correct by fixing any mistakes made the previous week, setting ourselves up for success. Here's to finishing your week strong and starting the next with even more clarity, focus, and determination.

P.S. I’m currently looking for 3 more businesses to participate in our Slipstream beta program. We will help you identify, document, and systemize your core processes in Slipstream and give you an extended free trial (6 months!). Drop me a message on LinkedIn if you are interested!

If you have lived any amount of life then you have certainly met its unavoidable companion: stress. While stress is certainly an undesirable response to life’s many obstacles, in some situations, it can actually be beneficial. Stress can enable short-term enhanced cognitive function, help us build resiliency, and allow us to appreciate the calmer moments of life.

However, chronic stress, especially when prolonged, can wreak havoc with numerous negative effects on our body and mind. In the short term, chronic stress can weaken our immune system, which leaves us more vulnerable to illness.  In the long term, chronic stress can directly cause or exacerbate several health issues such as cardiovascular disease, metabolic dysfunction, mental health disorders, weight gain, and sleep disorders, among others.

Preparation

Grab your favorite notebook, piece of paper, or digital document.  I personally use a tool called Obsidian to manage much of my life.

System Steps

1. Self-assessment

Before attempting to better manage stress, it is important to recognize its presence and understand its root causes.  Spend 15 minutes thinking about what is causing you stress.  Write down the list of causes in your document.  It’s important to identify any bad habits that may be contributing to your stress such as drinking, smoking, or regularly eating junk food.

2. Prioritize Sleep

Of all the things that you could possibly do to manage stress, getting adequate sleep is at the very top of the list. If you struggle to prioritize sleep, I found Why We Sleep: Unlocking The Power Of Sleep And Dreams by Dr. Matthew Walker to be a major wake-up call as it shows, with science, that sleep is not just a major pillar of good health, but the bedrock that the other pillars sit on.  Without proper sleep, every tactic to manage stress will be practically pointless.

In general, more is better, but most people need 7-9 hours of sleep as a minimum requirement to function optimally.  Even better, go to sleep and wake up at roughly the same time every day for the best sleep result.

3. Master Time Management

All too often stress can stem from being overwhelmed with a seemingly endless and infinitely growing to-do list.  The strategy that I recommend is implementing a productivity system that uses deep work time blocks.  You can read more about this here.

4. Avoid Alcohol

While alcohol might offer some temporary relief from stress, it’s certainly not an effective long-term strategy.  Turning to alcohol to manage stress is a quick way to develop dependence or alcohol use disorder.  Over the long term, this will be detrimental to your health and ability to manage stress.  If you need more convincing, this video by Dr. Andrew Huberman illustrates that even low-to-moderate alcohol consumption negatively impacts the brain and body.

5. Embrace Physical Activity

Rather than escaping into a bottle, escape into the gym, on a road bike, on a run, or while playing your favorite sport.  Exercise has the ability to literally reduce your stress response by decreasing cortisol and adrenaline levels while releasing endorphins, which are natural mood elevators.  What alcohol can provide you for escape and distraction you can get from exercise with none of the negative consequences along with an enormous list of additional health benefits.

6. Regularly Socialize

Frequently spending time connecting with friends and family is an incredibly powerful and non-obvious way to help manage stress.  When we spend time socializing, serotonin is released in the brain and the response is not only that we feel good but that we also feel less stressed.  Serotonin is also important for neural repair and reinforcing connections in the brain so it’s fitting that it is released when we connect with each other.  If you are interested in learning more about how social connection can help manage stress, this video by Dr. Andrew Huberman goes deeper into the science.

7. Enforce Boundaries

Perhaps the bulk of your stress is caused by demands from your work, either self-imposed or imposed by others. In either case, it is crucial to set boundaries to ensure that you don’t let it consume your every waking hour. It is important to have plenty of time to unplug, pursue hobbies, exercise, and spend time with friends and family.  This can be approached by mastering time management, engaging in more self-introspection, or having some candid conversations with whoever is monopolizing your time, depending on your situation.

Final Thoughts

I firmly believe that the path to fulfillment is a long road rife with challenges, but it doesn’t have to come at the cost of our health and well-being.  Although it may be difficult, it’s entirely possible to make lifestyle changes that will have a positive impact on your stress levels.  Even small steps in the right direction will generally have a big impact.

If managing your stress on your own feels too overwhelming, bring it up with your doctor or a mental health provider as soon as possible. Left unmanaged, stress is a slow and silent killer that can directly cause health problems and make any existing health issues significantly worse.

P.S. I’m currently looking for 2 more businesses to participate in our Slipstream beta program. We will help you identify, document, and systemize your core processes in Slipstream and give you an extended free trial (6 months!). Drop me a message on LinkedIn if you are interested!

It is a common misconception that in order to be ultra productive, we must get good at multitasking. In reality, multitasking is a guaranteed way to do several things poorly. The reason for this is when we split our attention between multiple tasks, we are unable to give any of them the attention that is required to do our best work.

The key to doing our best work is deeply focusing on a task and completely eliminating all other distractions. This means that you must decide on a single thing you will be working on and you must ignore everything else while you work on it.  As you can imagine, there are some prerequisites to do this well like deciding what you will focus on, when you will focus on it, and preparing your mind and environment for success.

Below, you’ll find a step-by-step system that will guide you through deciding what to focus on and preparing your mind and environment for deep work.

Prerequisites

Deep work blocks are most helpful when paired with routines that set us up for success.  If you don’t currently have a set of daily routines, I suggest implementing them first, starting with your morning routine.

Preparation

Grab your favorite notebook, piece of paper, or digital document.  I personally use a tool called Obsidian to manage much of my life.

System Steps

1. Self-assessment

For fifteen minutes, think about your typical day.  What are your daily obligations? Try to figure out what time you are able to think and work most effectively.  If you think about this deeply, you may find your answer to be fairly nuanced. For instance, perhaps there are times throughout the day that you are better at different types of things like creative writing vs problem-solving. If that isn’t clear to you yet, no problem. This system will help you tease out the answers to these questions over time.

2. Task selection

Many people are pulled in a lot of directions throughout the day, giving a nearly infinite amount of things that could be worked on.  However, it is important to be intentional with our time or we will never move the needle on the things that matter most.  It is important that we retain control over our most precious resource: our time.

Spend the next 15-30 minutes writing down all of the tasks that you could potentially work on across your work and personal life.  Ideally, several of these tasks are the next actions after defining SMART goals, which you can read about here.

Prioritize and label your tasks using the Eisenhower Method.

3. Add deep work blocks to your daily routine

Based on your self-assessment, add a few deep work blocks to your daily schedule that are 30-90 minutes long depending on your availability. Label each work block based on the type of work you plan to do during that block.  For example, your early morning work block might be for “Problem-Solving” tasks because you may have intense focus and concentration available to you at that time.  Perhaps you have a mid-morning block that is for “creative” tasks and your afternoon blocks are all about getting small things done that require very little thinking.  Don’t worry if you haven’t quite figured out these categories yet. As you get rolling, you will be able to iterate toward a system that is most effective for you.

4. Add tasks to your deep work blocks

Starting with anything that you need to do immediately and then moving on to your scheduled tasks, add tasks to your deep work blocks in priority order.  Schedule everything in your scheduled quadrant for a future deep work block.  Schedule a task to delegate everything in your delegate quadrant.  I manage most of this in Obsidian using the tasks community plugin but for many work things I’ll use Slipstream or Clickup to delegate tasks.

5. Curate your to-do list

As things come up, add them to your task list. Label and prioritize each task according to the quadrants on the Eisenhower Matrix. Continue to ignore all items added to the last quadrant.

Add any “do immediately” items to your next upcoming deep work block.  Schedule and delegate all remaining tasks as necessary.

6. Refine

Each week, set aside a small bit of time to evaluate how things are going.  Adjust or categorize your deep work blocks according to the type of work that is most appropriate at those times.  Adjust the times if necessary to better suit your needs.

Case Study

Although it is known that Benjamin Franklin was an avid time blocker, Cal Newport has largely been responsible for popularizing the concept more recently with his book Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World.

“At the heart of my advice is a simple recommendation: take control of your time. To be more concrete, when thinking about your work day, I suggest that you give every minute a job.”

- Cal Newport

Cal Newport has been practicing what he preaches since his undergrad at Dartmouth and credits scheduling deep work time blocks to the bulk of his success as an author.  Having written over eight books, published multiple papers in the field of computer science, and maintained a popular blog at calnewport.com, Cal is quite simply a productivity powerhouse.

Final Thoughts

Each day, we have the opportunity to control our day or let our day control us.  The most effective strategy that I have found for controlling my day has been scheduling and executing deep work time blocks.  Give this a shot. I promise you, you’ll be amazed by the outcome.

P.S. I’m currently looking for 3 more businesses to participate in our Slipstream beta program. We will help you identify, document, and systemize your core processes in Slipstream and give you an extended free trial (6 months!). Drop me a message on LinkedIn if you are interested!

For the past several years, for the first 100 days of the year, I have completed an intense personal challenge.  The purpose of the challenge has been to start the year off so strong that it will be practically impossible to have a bad year.

Here are the rules I followed for the first 100 days of 2023:

1. Rise early and focus

   My commitment:  Wake before 5:30 am to work on my #1 priority task for at least 2 hours

2. Write

   My commitment:  Any amount of daily writing

3. Exercise

   My commitment:  Lift or run

4. No alcohol

   My commitment:  Absolutely no alcohol

5. No refined sugar or processed food

   My commitment:  Use my best judgment but I’m not asking for ingredient lists when eating out

The first time I completed this challenge it was incredibly difficult but, by the end, I was absolutely amazed by how great I felt, how much body fat I had lost, and by my increase in productivity. So much so that, aside from 2020 (you can guess why) I have completed it every year since 2018 and plan to continue next year. Each year this challenge gets a little bit easier but it always provides the same thing: amazing results.

If you are interested in giving something like this a try in 2024, keep reading for a system to create your own 100-day challenge to start next year off strong.

Preparation

Grab your favorite notebook, piece of paper, or digital document.  I personally use a tool called Obsidian to manage much of my life, including my yearly challenge.

System Steps

1. Goal Setting

In order for this challenge to be effective, you need to have something that you want to achieve.  Spend some time thinking about your goals in life and write down a list of options in your document.

When writing down your goals, use the SMART goal framework — Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. This will help create goals that are both realistic and aligned with your values.

Example:

Lose 20 lbs over the next 3 months.

Pare down the list you created to 3-7 goals.

2. Self Assessment

For fifteen minutes, think about how well you are currently doing moving toward your goals. For each of your goals, score yourself on a 1-5 scale, with 1 being not moving at all and 5 being moving exceptionally fast. If you don’t have any goals, don’t worry, you’ll create them in the next step, but it will be best to keep your challenge rules very approachable.

3. Challenge Creation

Since this is a daily challenge, you’ll need to break each goal down into daily actionable tasks or daily actions to eliminate. Write them down in your document.

Examples:

1. Every morning, at 8 a.m., I will immediately work out for 10 minutes.

2. Do not eat processed food

Create a template for your challenge that lists each of your to-do and not-to-do actions. I like to make the action brief and elaborate on each one, to be clear about the commitment, on the next line.

4. Execution

In a new document, each day, copy your template into the document with the date as the heading above.

As you execute your daily actions, check them off.

When you start the next morning, check each not-to-do action off.

I like to put today’s challenge at the top of the list so that the days are listed in reverse chronological order but this is just my personal preference.

Do this for 100 days.

5. Reward

When the challenge is over, it is important to reward yourself for a job well done. Perhaps it’s something that you have been wanting to eat, drink, or buy. Do it! You have earned it and it’s time to treat yourself.

Case Study

After completing this year’s challenge I had some impactful observations.

I was more productive

Establishing a consistent block of time to focus on my most important tasks ensured that I was able to move the needle in multiple areas of my life and business.  Without this dedicated block of focus time, I could easily end up spending my entire day reacting to other people’s demands on my time.

After years of experimenting, I have discovered that a block of focus time before most people wake up is ideal for me. However, if I were a night owl, a late-night block would also work well. The important thing is to discover when you are able to disconnect from the world and really focus, without any distractions, for multiple hours.

I was more confident

The first time I embarked on this journey, I didn't quite know what to expect. I had completed a few other shorter challenges in the past like The Whole30 and The Whole Life Challenge, but nothing close to this long. After the first month, I had settled into the routine, the habits had started to form, and my self-doubt started to evaporate.  What seemed to be a nearly impossible feat, was still far from effortless, but became just a thing I did.  A thing I would finish.  When I finished, I felt fantastic because I had just completed the hardest voluntary challenge that I had ever attempted in my life.

I was healthier

100 days is a long time, but it takes time to make lasting changes.  When I finished I was mentally stronger and had more consistent energy than I thought was possible.  I felt more youthful because, well, I was by every measure.  After getting my blood work done, I was able to see significant changes toward the positive in all areas, especially my cholesterol levels.

I was happier

Including daily exercise in my challenge caused my brain to regularly release endorphins which acted as natural painkillers and mood lifters.  Exercise also offered me an escape from worrying about any frustrations or problems that I was facing because I was busy focusing on my body's movements.

Final Thoughts

After five consecutive years (minus 2020 when I broke down and needed pizza) of completing this 100-day challenge, the evidence is clear: setting clear, actionable goals and creating a system to achieve them will lead to incredible results. While the immediate rewards of increased productivity, improved health, and enhanced mood are evident, the deeper benefits — a reinforced sense of self-worth, discipline, and the ability to harness one's potential — are the real gold.

To everyone pondering the leap into such a challenge in 2024: Your future self will thank you. The satisfaction derived from personal growth, from seeing the fruits of discipline and effort, is a joy that every individual deserves to experience. So give it a try!

P.S. I’m currently looking for 3 more businesses to participate in our Slipstream beta program. We will help you identify, document, and systemize your core processes in Slipstream and give you an extended free trial (6 months!). Drop me a message on LinkedIn if you are interested!

When searching for ways to improve your life, you'll quickly come across countless pieces of advice on the internet or in books, offering strategies to earn more money, enhance your health, or acquire a new skill. While this search often yields useful and actionable information, many of us still fall short of our goals. Why is that?

The primary reason is that we are missing one key ingredient that is crucial for lasting success: discipline. When we start something new, our motivation gets a temporary boost and usually lasts long enough to yield some short-term results. However, without discipline, we tend to give up once that motivation begins to wane. Motivation will ebb and flow, leading to long periods when we don't feel like putting in the consistent effort required to achieve our goals.

With a disciplined approach, we're more likely to achieve our goals. Discipline helps us succeed where motivation falls short by aligning our behavior, emotions, and thoughts with our long-term objectives. Since discipline is a skill, it can be refined with practice.

When trying to accomplish anything difficult in life, there are generally four keys to success:

1. Having a decent plan

2. Having the discipline to stick to the plan

3. Having a feedback loop to adjust the plan

4. Having a long enough time horizon to achieve the desired result

The Discipline Equation¹

Discipline = Why (awareness + purpose + motivation) - Friction (difficulty + negative beliefs + fear)

We’ll dive more into the components of this equation below, where you’ll find a step-by-step system that will help you build the discipline required to accomplish your goals.

Preparation

Grab your favorite notebook, piece of paper, or digital document.  I personally use a tool called Obsidian to manage much of my life.

System Steps

1. Goal Setting

In order to build discipline, you need to have something that you want to achieve.  Spend some time thinking about what your goals are and write down a list of options in your document.

Pare down the list you created to a single goal that will take several months to achieve.

When writing down your goals, use the SMART goal framework — Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. This will help create goals that are both realistic and aligned with your values.

Example:

Lose 20 lbs over the next 6 months.

Now, break each goal down into daily actionable tasks.

Example:

Every weekday morning, after I drop my kids off at school, I will immediately work out for 10 minutes.

Every evening, for dinner, I will only eat whole, unprocessed foods.

If you currently have a set of daily routines, integrate these actions into one of your routines.  If you don’t currently have one, it’s most effective to start with your morning.  You can read about how to create an incredible morning routine here.

2. Find a compelling “why”

When you consider the Discipline Equation, the more you increase your “why”, the more friction you will be able to overcome.  For instance, if you knew your family would be harmed if you didn’t work out every day for the next 6 months, no amount of friction would stand in your way because your “why” is so strong.

Spend some time thinking deeply about the “why” for your goal.  I, personally, have found that having a “why” rooted in my values and for the benefit of my family is compelling enough to stop searching for a stronger “why” and instead move on to reducing friction.

3.  Reduce friction

What are the obstacles that will stand in the way of you achieving your goal?  Identify them. How can you minimize each obstacle as much as possible?

Try these:

• Decrease the difficulty.  When starting something new, we often bite off more than we can chew.  Instead, make it easy in the beginning, then refine it in a feedback loop.

• Do prep work.  The night before or a few hours before, set up your environment for success.  For instance, if you want to workout in the morning, lay your workout clothes the night before.  This will help you hit the ground running when you start your task.

• Add to a routine.  Do the task at the same time every day, following another daily activity you consistently do.  This will help you form a habit more quickly than if you were to execute the task randomly at any point during the day.

• Reframe and challenge negative thoughts. It’s helpful to reduce negative thoughts down into facts rather than assumptions.  Can you find any evidence contrary to the negative thought? Show yourself the same compassion you would if a friend were having the same struggle.  If negative thinking is negatively impacting your life, consider seeking professional help as it will speed up this process.

• Find an accountability partner.  An accountability partner can dramatically reduce friction. However, ensure that your discipline is strong enough to continue without them. If you become reliant on your partner and they fail, you too will fail.

4. Refine

Since we can improve only what we measure, it's crucial to find a way to track progress. For weight loss, this could mean weekly progress photos and scale measurements. For weightlifting, it would involve recording the movement, weight, and reps for each session. However, be cautious not to go overboard, as it might tip the balance towards the Friction side of The Discipline Equation.

Every few weeks, review your progress and determine whether you should consider adjusting your plan. Perhaps tasks are easier than expected, which will prompt you to increase the difficulty so you progress faster. On the other hand, if things are too challenging, you might decide to scale back to a more sustainable level. Regularly revisit your 'why' and consider using your results to make it even more compelling. Also, continue efforts to reduce areas of friction as much as possible.

Case Study

I began taking running seriously after a cardiologist warned me that if I didn't care of my heart, I would likely need a valve replacement in my early 50s due to a heart defect. At the age of 23, this became a compelling "why" for me and motivated me to establish a consistent exercise routine. I was also able to reduce friction by joining a running club, which allowed me to tap into a community for support.

Now, at 39, my "why" has deepened. I strive to set a good example for my children and hope to have the energy to play with my future grandchildren. This reason is even more compelling to me; I find it easier to take action for my family than just for myself. While I still find community support to be valuable, as my discipline has grown, I am no longer reliant on it

Final Thoughts

"To be great and to have power requires clarity: We must be clear in our aim, our direction, and our destination, then translate that ambition into the steps and daily tasks that will take us there." - Ryan Holiday

After months go by, you will soon be at a point where The Discipline Equation is so positive that you are ready to add another goal.  Once you have built discipline in one area of your life, it will be significantly easier to do the same thing in other areas.  Follow this same process and soon you will be absolutely amazed at how, with a disciplined approach, you have completely changed your life.

¹ Steven Bartlett’s Discipline Equation:

P.S. I’m currently looking for 3 more businesses to participate in our Slipstream beta program. We will help you identify, document, and systemize your core processes in Slipstream and give you an extended free trial (6 months!). Drop me a message on LinkedIn if you are interested!

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It may sometimes feel like we are at the mercy of our habits but, in reality, we have been subconsciously and continuously reinforcing our habits with our daily actions. Our identities are shaped by the way we think, feel, and behave in any situation and since we have the power to decide how we want to think, feel, and behave, we can shift over time into the people we want to be.

Reshaping your identity is a profound process, requiring self-reflection, exploration, discovery, and a desire to grow toward your potential. Below is a step-by-step system that will help you reshape your identity.

Preparation

Grab your favorite notebook, piece of paper, or digital document.  I personally use a tool called Obsidian to manage much of my life, including my identity design document.

System Steps

1. Self-assessment

For fifteen minutes, think about the values that are genuinely important to you in life, such as kindness, integrity, growth, etc. List them all out in your document as you think of them.  Take a second pass through the list and rearrange the values in priority order. Try to pare the list down to 4-7 values by cutting the least important or combining them into an overarching value. This document you are creating will be a living document that you reference and refine every day so don’t worry about making it perfect right now. For example:

Values

1. Kindness

2. Integrity

3. Discipline

Now that you have your list of personal values, spend another fifteen minutes writing down 10-15 desired identity traits in a series of “I am X” statements, in a “My Desired Identity” list.  For example:

My Desired Identity

1. I am kind

2. I am honest

3. I am disciplined

Great!  Now spend a few more minutes writing down 10-15 of your current identity traits, good and bad, in a series of “I am X” and “I can be X” statements, in a “My Current Identity” list.  For example:

My Current Identity

    Doing well

1. I am kind

2. I am honest

    Working on

1. I can be messy

2. I can be lazy

2. Goal Setting

Create a goal or two for each of the traits listed under the working on section.

When writing down your goals, use the SMART goal framework — Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. This will help create goals that are both realistic and aligned with your desired identity.

Example:

“I can be messy” becomes:

Make my bed for the next 6 months.

Keep my kitchen clean for the next 6 months.

After you have finished creating your SMART goals, rewrite them in priority order so that your most important goals come first.

Finally, break each goal down into daily actionable tasks.

Example:

Every morning, after I shower, I will make my bed.

After every meal, I will clean my dishes and put them in the dishwasher.

If you currently have a set of daily routines, integrate these actions into one of your routines.  If you don’t currently have one, it’s most effective to start with your morning.  You can read about how to create an incredible morning routine here.

3. Refine

Humans are complex.  As we grow in life, knowledge, and experience our current and desired identities will naturally shift.  It’s important to revisit this exercise regularly in order to continuously refine your values, desired identity, and current identity in order to guide them in a desirable direction.  It’s important to read the document that you have created every day in order to keep it in the front of your mind.  You should memorize your core values and make sure that all of your decisions are aligned with them.  Additionally, each week, take some time to reflect on how things are going and adjust as necessary.

Case Study

I personally went through a similar exercise in 2018 and have found the clarity that this provides to my life to be tremendously valuable.  Not only will this help you adjust your thinking and behavior toward your desired identity, but it will also guide you when making big life decisions.

You can view the identity document I have created, and read daily, here.

Final Thoughts

"You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose." - Dr. Seuss

We have the power to choose to be the person that we want to be.  We won’t change overnight.  In fact, it will likely take several months if not years, but every action we take in alignment with our desired identities is a vote to embody that identity.  If we keep casting our votes then, eventually, that identity becomes reality.

With morning routines, most people fall into one of two camps:

1.  Those that habitually execute actions, good or bad, that formed without planning over time.

2.  Those who design or adopt a morning routine to move them toward their goals.

The start of your day can either turn you into a productivity powerhouse or leave you in a state of endless reactivity, but you have the power to decide which one.  Below you will find a highly effective system that you can use to get in alignment with your goals and craft a morning that will allow you to win each day.  If you are coming to this article from the first camp above, I hope you will find this information actionable and are able to move yourself to the second camp.  If you are already in the second camp, I hope you use this as an opportunity to reevaluate your morning routine and make it even more effective.

Preparation

Grab your favorite notebook, piece of paper, or digital document.  I personally use a tool called Obsidian to manage much of my life, including my morning routine.

System Steps

1. Self-assessment

What is your sleep chronotype? (I’m a lion) You can look this up here. This will come into play in the next step when determining the goals for your morning routine so that you can be in alignment with your natural rhythms.

Identify the most common challenges you face in the morning.  Is it hitting the snooze button or reaching for your phone and scrolling email or social media?  Are you in a rush trying to frantically get your kids off to school?  List them all here. You'll work around these challenges later when structuring your routine.

2. Goal setting

Goals are highly personal and the primary reason it is important to craft your own morning routine rather than adopt someone else's.  In this step, at a very high level, define what you aspire to achieve with your morning routine (e.g., better mental health, productivity, physical health, creativity, etc.).  Leave plenty of space for each one so that you can create goals to move toward each aspiration.

Think about how your morning routine can facilitate your long-term goals. For instance, if you aim to write a book, dedicating time to write each morning will be beneficial.  Similarly, if your objective is to get fit, it probably makes sense to reserve time for exercise in your routine.

Create a goal for each of the aspirations you previously listed.

When writing down your goals, use the SMART goal framework — Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. This will help in creating a routine that is both realistic and aligned with your aspirations.

Example:

I will publish 1 article every Tuesday for System-level Thinking for the next 6 months.

After you have finished creating your SMART goals, rewrite them in priority order so that your most important goals come first.

Finally, break each goal down into daily actionable tasks.

Example:

Write for 30 minutes on a System-level Thinking article.

3. Routine building

1. Bring a notepad and go lie down in your bed (seriously!) and pretend it's your 100th morning executing your new, beautifully crafted, morning routine.  Pretend it's time to wake up.  How do you wake up?  This might be anywhere from 5 a.m. by a vibrating wrist alarm clock (exactly how I wake up) to just waking up naturally.  This is entirely up to you but I suggest using your goals as a guide.  Do you struggle with hitting the snooze button?  Consider moving your alarm to a place in the room where you have to physically get out of bed to turn it off.

2. Now that we have your wake-up time and method figured out, move on to your ideal next action.  Do you put on your workout clothes (as I do)?  Do you take a hot or cold shower?  Perhaps you enjoy tea or coffee in the morning to help you wake up and you go get that first?  Again, entirely up to you.  Take another look at your goals then choose the next action.

3. Repeat step 2 until your morning routine is finished.  Continuously reference your goals and add your goal-related actionable tasks to your routine.  Don't worry about fitting everything in.  You can apply this same process to create a work routine, after-work routine, and evening routine so that you get all of your actionable tasks in throughout the day.

4. Refine

You probably won't get your morning routine exactly how you want it in your first pass.  Each week, take some time to evaluate how it's going.  Then, using your own feedback, keep refining your routine.  This process is never-ending because as you start consistently executing every day, in alignment with your goals, your life will completely change.

While refining, It’s important to keep in mind that a great morning routine starts the night before.  For example, think about doing things like laying out your workout clothes, preparing the coffee machine, preparing your breakfast, prioritizing your to-do list, and ensuring you get adequate sleep the night before so that, in the morning, you are ready to hit the ground running.

Case Study

I first designed my daily routines over 10 years ago and credit them entirely for moving me toward my highest priority goals.  They have enabled me to run marathons, compete successfully in exclusive fitness events, build a 7-figure business, and create wonderful relationships with my wife and children.

My morning routine:

5:00 ➟ Wake up
I use the Amazfit Band 5 as a vibrating alarm clock so that I don’t wake up my wife getting out of bed. I set out my workout clothes the night before and set the coffee maker so that it is ready to go.  I grab my clothes, phone, and glasses then head downstairs to use the bathroom and get dressed.

5:05 ➟ Hydrate/Supplements/Coffee

I have a few 20oz Contigo water bottles that I carry with me all the time.  I drink an entire 20oz bottle while I take my supplements and pour a cup of coffee.

5:10  ➟ Review values, identity, and operating system

In 2018 I decided there were quite a few things that I didn’t like about myself and I wanted to work to change them.  I created this document to start doing that and I review it every day.  I have found the effect of this practice to be extraordinary because it’s a constant reminder of how I want to live and who I want to be.

5:12  ➟ Review goals

My life is centered around accomplishing my goals.  I spend a few minutes each morning reviewing my goals so that they are always top of mind.

5:15 ➟ Gratitude journaling (3 things)

No one in this world is self-made and we all stand on the shoulders of giants.  I take a few minutes each morning to remind myself of things I am grateful for.  I just write down whatever immediately comes to mind.  I really enjoy spending some time going through my old entries and seeing all of the things I have to be grateful for.

5:20 ➟ Stream of consciousness journaling

I set a five-minute timer and just write whatever comes to mind.  Today’s concerns, yesterday’s triumphs, anything goes!

5:25 ➟ Read nonfiction (currently $100M Leads by Alex Hormozi)

I listen to a lot of audiobooks when I’m driving, running or working out but, for books I really want to absorb the content, I’ll spend 30 minutes each morning reading and taking notes.

5:55 ➟ Unguided meditation (5-minute timer)

After reading for 30 minutes, my mind can start to wander all over the place.  This quick meditation helps me regain focus so that I am ready to write.

6:00 ➟ Writing

For an hour I’ll spend time either writing for System-level Thinking or posts for social media depending on the day of the week.

7:00 ➟ Break for getting my youngest off to school

On the weekdays, I am responsible for getting our youngest up, fed, and off to school.

7:45 ➟ Lift in my garage

In the last year, I have built up a home gym in one of my garage bays with a squat rack, bench, dumbbells, barbell, plyo box, and mats.  I’m still building it out for variety but it has all of the essentials.

8:30 ➟ Deep work (2 hours)

For two hours, I work on whatever my highest priority task is.  Since I run a business and advise other people, this block is vital to ensure I don’t spend all day reacting to the demands of other people.

Final Thoughts

“Most unproductive or unhealthy behaviors are the result of slow, gradual choices that add up to bad habits. A wasted morning here. An unproductive morning there. The good news is that exceptional results are also the result of consistent daily choices.” – James Clear

The “perfect morning routine” is entirely individual. It’s up to you to figure out what works best for you. I like diving straight into writing but you may prefer to start with a yoga session.  The important thing is to be intentional about how we spend our time.  There are amazing people in the world who are able to do this without routines.  For the rest of us, this is a great place to start.

P.S. I’m currently looking for 5 businesses to participate in our Slipstream beta program this October. We will help you identify, document, and systemize your core processes in Slipstream and give you an extended free trial (6 months!). Drop me a message on LinkedIn if you are interested!

Having consistently high energy is a superpower that will significantly enhance your capacity to achieve your goals, maintain focus, and give you an “edge” in just about every aspect of life.  Over the last sixteen years, I have slowly incorporated the following six practices into my daily routine in an effort to cultivate this superpower.

1. Prioritize Sleep

Why:  This is the most obvious strategy because we have all slept poorly and felt its effects.  Poor-quality sleep will negatively impact your energy levels and cognitive function, which will lead to decreased productivity and poor health.  If you aren't consistently getting good sleep, start here first, as it will make the other strategies easier and more effective.

My Strategy:  I aim for 7 hours of high-quality sleep each night by keeping a consistent bedtime and wake time.  My thermostat automatically drops the temperature to 68°F which is ideal for helping our body reduce its core temperature for sleep.  I also follow a consistent bedtime routine, which helps me wind down and enter a more relaxed and peaceful state right before sleeping.

2. Eat Nutritious Foods

Why:  Eating a healthy and balanced diet rich in essential nutrients provides the body with the fuel it needs to function optimally, which will have a positive impact on your energy levels and productivity.  Avoiding processed foods, refined carbohydrates, and sugar will stave off afternoon lulls in energy by eliminating blood sugar spikes and crashes.

My Strategy: I focus on eating whole, unprocessed foods like fruits, vegetables, meat, seeds, and nuts while avoiding all processed food, refined carbohydrates, sugar, and alcohol.  Eating this way ensures that I have stable blood sugar levels, improved cognitive ability and focus, improved hormonal balance, and enhanced physical stamina.  All of which significantly boost my overall productivity and allow me to remain alert until bedtime.

3. Lift Heavy Things

Why:  Strength training has been shown to improve blood flow, increase metabolic function, improve focus and cognitive function, boost mood, and reduce overall insulin sensitivity leading to better blood sugar management.  While it is important to listen to your body and not overdo it, following a strength training program is another great path to maintaining consistent energy throughout the day.

My Strategy:  I have started and stopped strength training numerous times over the last sixteen years primarily because I found it boring, difficult, and inconvenient.  A little over seven years ago I decided to give CrossFit a try and it made strength training fun and allowed me to train with several like-minded people while I built up the habit.  Last year, for convenience, I built a gym in my garage that I now use every day.  I have grown to enjoy strength training and find the wealth of benefits that it provides to be immeasurable.  Since I prefer consistency, I like to train every day with an occasional recovery day as needed.  In order to continue training with high frequency, I stay away from max effort lifts which will require additional recovery time.  I also focus on slower, strict movements, with good form so that I avoid injury.

4. Elevate My Heart Rate

Why:  Endurance training offers enormous benefits including improved cardiovascular function, increased blood flow, decreased risk of cardiovascular disease, increased lung capacity and efficiency, improved joint health and stability, improved blood sugar management, and increased metabolic function.  Additionally, endurance training releases endorphins, which act as natural mood boosters and stress relievers.

My Strategy:  I run outside daily for around 40 minutes with a longer 90-minute run each week, typically on Saturday.  I find running outside to be more relaxing, meditative, and enjoyable than running indoors on a treadmill but this is largely just personal preference.   Running outside does provide the added benefit of increasing your vitamin D levels, which is yet another thing that helps reduce fatigue and boosts energy levels.  It’s worth noting that it generally takes a few months of consistent running to get to a point where it's enjoyable.

5. Practice Mindfulness

Why:  Stress can deplete your energy and cause you to feel overwhelmed. Mindfulness techniques will help reduce stress, increase energy, stave off distractions, and allow you to maintain focus for longer periods of time.

My Strategy:  In addition to running, which I also find to be meditative and stress-reducing, I spend five minutes each morning doing unguided meditation so that I am better able to hit the ground running when I start my morning deep work period.  I find that, even after only five minutes, this strategy allows me to avoid distraction by making my mind better equipped to control my impulses.

6. Take Breaks and Hydrate

Why:  Short breaks will refresh your mind, improve focus, and sustain performance throughout the day.  Hydration is essential for physical and mental energy.

My Strategy:  I break my day down into work blocks that last for 1-2 hours depending on the time of day.  Between each work block, I take a break to do things like take a short walk outside, let my dog out, work out in my garage, or go for a run.  I find that this allows me to recharge my mental focus and come back to my work with renewed energy and a fresh perspective.

I have found that Integrating these strategies into my daily routine has had a profound impact on my energy levels, productivity, and health in general.  Give them a try and let me know how it goes!