9 hours in the office and another 2-3 on the ol’ laptop when I get home.  A few hours each day on the weekends.  The past couple months have been work hell.  Now with quarter end it’s even worse.  I’m still on a consistent workout schedule, but a lot of other things in life have slipped (like, why does this blog theme look like a POS?).  A lot of days I come home and just want to punch holes in the wall, so I go on a run instead.

Here’s a song I wanted to share.  ”Working Man” originally recorded by RUSH in 1974.

“I got no time for livin’ yeah, just workin’ all the time”

Monster guitar solo on the end.  I’ve been jammin’ out to this tune a lot lately.

Equally awesome is a cover of this song by the band SUPLECS.  You can check that out here.

Before you rush to judgement and think “oh man, another post about how packing your lunch saves you money and is better for your health, SNOOZE!” I want to tell you that is NOT the purpose of this post.  My main message here will be:

Packing your lunch saves you TIME

Yes.  This may be the biggest motivator for people who aren’t compelled by the fact that brown-bagging your lunch saves you money (DUH) and is healthier (double-DUH) than eating out.  Let’s face it, going out to grab something during lunch is convenient (and we’re all “pressed for time”, right?).  Someone else cooks for you, that’s really easy.  But have you thought about the time you spend going out, eating and coming back?

Lunch on the go isn’t as convenient as you think

Let’s say you spend 20 minutes on going to get your lunch, ordering it and taking it back.  This does not include eating time.  How does this convenience stack up against packing your own lunch?  Well, the actual act of packing takes about 5 minutes, tops.  But we also have to consider the time we spent grocery shopping to get that food.  If we spend 90 minutes/week grocery shopping, we can prorate that out over, say 20 meals/week to 4.5 minutes/meal.

20 minutes for lunch on-the-go > 9.5 minutes brown-bag lunch

The numbers aren’t an exact science.  But there is still margin of error that if you can pick up your on-the-go lunch quicker, or packing it takes a little longer the numbers still work out.  Packing your lunch actually takes LESS TIME than grabbing lunch on the go.

This is the math that made me make the switch

For years I heard from co-workers, or occasionally read articles about how brown-bagging your lunch saves you money.  My mom scolded me about it from time to time.  It made sense, but I could never do it consistently.  It always seemed easier to just go grab something.  I was BUSY (right?).  I remember one time I even turned down a lunch invitation from a co-worker saying I had packed my lunch that day.  He said “Oh, are you trying to save money?  Is everything OK?”.  I actually felt a little embarrassed.  As if packing your lunch is some sort of sign that you’re poor/cheap/frugal/lame.

Later on, I decided that I wanted to try exercising on my lunch hour…

Suddenly, the math made sense.  If I was going to exercise on my lunch hour, packing my lunch was the only way to MAKE TIME.  It wasn’t about saving money or eating healthy any more.  Suddenly my compelling reason to pack my lunch was the same reason I had always fell back to grabbing lunch on the go, TIME.   And wouldn’t ya know it, out of nowhere I had boatloads of motivation to pack my lunch…

to be continued in part 2…

Wow, is this real?  I can’t believe I’ve made it this far.  Am I really doing almost 4 mile runs?  It’s amazing what you can do when you set a goal, make a plan to reach that goal, and chunk it out into fun, actionable steps.

photo courtesy of photos8.com

For the background on this, see my week 3 report

Where I am now:

• I am now up to jogging for 13 minutes, walking for 2, then repeating. (total 30 minutes)
• Checking on google maps, my 30 minute runs are almost 4 miles now.
• I actually LIKE running.  Really?  I’m not sure how that is happening.
• Motivation is not a problem.  Since I’m enjoying it and seeing progress every time, I get excited to get out there and run, so I can keep leveling up.  I have not missed 1 run yet.

Lessons learned:

• Running at lunch time in Texas heat is ROUGH.  I think I need to switch to a treadmill, or run early in the morning.
• Creating incremental steps for myself is what made this possible.  Each week the new level up is a bit of a challenge, but by the 3rd one of the week it is much easier
• Having a solid “Pumpup” playlist on my iPod has proved to be a huge help.  Nothing like Kyuss “Highway 74″ to get the adrenaline going

How many times have you heard:

(or said) “I’ve been so busy I’ve only gotten X hours of sleep the past few nights [insert smug face here]“.  OK, we get it, you’re busy.  Join the club.  Do you want a medal or something?  You’ve had so much to do that you couldn’t get enough sleep, unlike the rest of us slackers who had the luxury of getting a good night’s sleep.  Why is this such a badge of honor for us?  Why is sleep deprivation treated as some macho endeavor that only those of us who are tough enough can pull off?  Going to a fairly academically rigorous university for undergrad, I saw this all the time.  It was easy to fall into the trap of bragging about how little sleep you got.  I’d like to think we could chalk that up to being “young and dumb” but in the workplace I still see this; especially during crunch times like before a big deadline or near the end of a quarter.

Seriously, cut the less-sleep-macho business

No one’s falling for it any more.  You are not a badass for depriving yourself of sleep.  It’s juvenile, stupid and probably because of poor planning and procrastination.  You are jeopardizing your own health and sabotaging yourself longterm.  Cut the crap.

Four reasons why you should get enough sleep

photo courtesty of ambersnowphotography.com used with permission

1) Be more productive while you’re awake.  For anything that requires even a moderate amount of brainpower, you will be more productive if you’ve been getting enough sleep.  You can “slog through it” on less sleep, but you’ll likely take longer and produce lower-quality work.  With a good night’s rest you will be able to focus better and think more clearly.

2) Be in a better mood during the day.  The benefit here is self-evident.   A sure-fire way to give yourself a case of “The Mondays” is to stay up too late on Sunday night dorking around trying to artificially prolong the weekend.  Get enough sleep, be in a better mood.  This also ties back to number one.  If you’re in a good mood, it’s a lot easier to be productive

3) Allow your body to get the full benefit of exercise. This one assumes you’ve been doing some kind of exercise; running, cycling, cardio etc during the day.  Without proper rest (and nutrition) your body won’t be able to get the full benefit of exercise and build strength & endurance from your activity during the day.   Healthy body, healthy mind… it ties back to productivity as well.

The main point is that getting less sleep is usually counter-productive!

Getting enough sleep, in the longterm is better for your productivity (and of course your health)

Now that I’ve reminded you of the importance of getting a good night’s sleep (I know you already knew, it’s not like I think my readers are going “holy &*%# really?  I should get enough sleep?  Ahh crap, I knew I was screwing up somewhere,  thanks Ben!).  Here are some practical tips you can do to actually pull it off.

Tips for regularly getting a good night’s sleep

1) Get exercise during the day, the earlier the better.  Exercise can give you an energy and mood boost immediately afterwards, so the endorphins can actually interfere with sleep too late in the day.  I’m going to give some other tips, but in my opinion this one is the most important.  So if you’re not presently exercising, START.  It can be something simple like taking 30 minute walks a few times a week, but do SOMETHING.  If you are taking sleep aids like melatonin or prescription drugs and NOT exercising, you seriously need to be slapped.  I will be more than willing to do that for you.

2) Easy on the caffeine, and keep it confined to early in the day.  Personally I’ve found that to help falling asleep by 10:30pm each night, I don’t want to drink caffeine any later than noon.  I’m still hoping to quit caffeine eventually, so if you have any tips let me hear it in the comments.

3) No screens (of any kind) an hour before bed. That means no TV, computer, mobile phone, etc an hour before bed.  Studies have shown that the light actually stimulates your brain and makes it harder to fall asleep.  Turn the screens off and do something like read a book, play with your pets or get ready for tomorrow.

4) Set a daily wake-up time and stick to it. I’ve tried all sorts of techniques for keeping a sleep schedule and I’ve found this one is the most powerful.  My alarm goes off at 6:30am, my feet hit the floor and I am UP.  Your body doesn’t need the exact same amount of sleep every night (and I’m not going to argue minutiae like standard 8 hours vs. 7.5 hours because of  increments of 90 minute-REM cycles).  If you’re doing 1-3 above, your body will tell you when it’s time to go to sleep.  Listen to it.

5) Track your progress.  One website that I’ve found tremendously useful is www.yawnlog.com (it’s free of course).  You can track your bedtimes, wake-up times, hours of sleep and weekly averages.  The numbers don’t lie.  It’s funny because when I found this site I took a slightly “sleep-macho” approach thinking I was mildly superhuman and really only needed 7 hours of sleep a night.  After tracking myself for a few weeks I found that with the extra sleep I got sleeping in a little on weekends or nights when I crashed early, it all eerily evened out to 8.0 hours of sleep a night.

If you have any other tips, I’d love to hear them in the comments.

Well, I never thought this would happen, but 3 weeks ago I started running.

How I got started

It all started a little over a month ago actually.  It was Sunday, I had a lazy morning but was planning to get in my usual Sunday bike ride to get my exercise.  Then I remembered that my wife and I were going to visit some friends that day and suddenly I had only 45 minutes to get my exercise before we left.  I decided I could tire myself out much more quickly on a run.  15 minutes later I was exhausted, out of breath and my legs felt like they had been run over by a steamroller.  And this is from a guy who can do 30 mile bike rides or 45 minutes on the ellipticals no problem!  What the hell?  Why can’t I run?

That wasn’t the first time I had failed

I have tried to start several times over the years but failed every time.  I would head out, start running, and 10-15 minutes later be completely exasperated and walk home.  Ouch!  I would usually be very sore the next day too.

I made a conscious decision to get serious

This time was different.  Something clicked inside and I realized that I really wanted this.  I decided I would not be so easily deterred.  I did some research and  I found a simple program in a running magazine to EASE into running by doing mostly walking.  In fact, this is the first week that I actually ran more than I walked during my “runs”.

This is the program that I’ve been trying:

30 minute runs, 3 times each week:

Week 1: Run 2 minutes, Walk 4 minutes, repeat 5 times – Done!
Week 2: Run 3 minutes, Walk 3 minutes, repeat 5 times – Done!
Week 3: Run 4 minutes, Walk 2 minutes, repeat 5 times – Done!
Week 4: Run 5 minutes, Walk 3 minutes, repeat 3.5 times – Next week!
Week 5: Run 7 minutes, Walk 3 minutes, repeat 3 times
Week 6: Run 8 minutes, Walk 2 minutes, repeat 3 times
Week 7: Run 9 minutes, Walk 1 minute, repeat 3 times
Week 8: Run 13 minutes, Walk 2 minutes, repeat once
Week 9: Run 14 minutes, Walk 1 minute, repeat once
Week 10: Run for 30 minutes!

The difficulty ramps up a little bit each week.  Honestly, I don’t think I could have done the 4 minute / 2 minute thing when I started.  I am building my running house brick by brick.

Do you want to give this a shot?

If you’re serious about getting started running here are some tips:

• Go to a running specialty store and get fitted for shoes (YES, I know this is an expensive investment but if you’re really going to commit to this program, you need to do this).  I had a pair specially picked out for my low arches and pronation of my right foot.  The right equipment is key to preventing injury.
• Drink plenty of water before, during and after your run.  Texas in May is already pretty hot, but even in cold weather you can dehydrate quickly.
• Warm up first and then STRETCH.  Then stretch again after running.  This is another important tip for preventing injury and mitigating soreness.
• Don’t try to level up too fast!  Start with week 1 and stick to the program.  Don’t jump ahead!  There is no prize skipping ahead.  You want to build momentum without burning out or getting injured.  The idea is to build a habit, not win a race.  Remember, consistency is king.

This is just the beginning

I’m just getting started.  The advice here is enough to get the ball rolling.  I’m still a total n00b at running.  If you’re looking for expert advice there are plenty of other places to go.  I will keep you posted on my progress.  If you want to get started, decide, commit and begin TODAY.

Photo courtesy of: http://www.flickr.com/photos/charliellewellin/ / CC BY-SA 2.0

Happy Earth Day!

Since today is Earth Day I wanted to post something with a green theme.  Riding your bike to work is great for the planet.  It’s also great for your own health and well being too.  If you already are a bicycle commuter, please allow me to give you a congratulatory virtual fist bump (knucks) through the internet.  There… rock on.  If you aren’t one, but think you might like to be, please read on.

So you want to get in the habit of biking to work?  Last year when I took a new job 5 miles from home, I thought for sure I would be biking to work every day.  I was all gung ho in the beginning, but sleeping in an extra 30 minutes and driving just became too tempting not to give in.   It took me a while to get in the rhythm of riding my bike to work regularly.  I know what’s it like, you feel you should, but sometimes a new habit like this can be intimidating to start from scratch or even maintain.  It can be a big mental and physical paradigm shift from driving to work.  And heck, let’s face it, it’s a lot easier and faster to just hop in your car and drive to work.

photo by baudman

You probably know it’s something you want to do, but maybe procrastination, uncertainty or lack of willpower hold you back.  You know you want to enjoy some or all of the benefits of cycling to work:

• Getting more exercise
• Saving money on gas
• Reducing pollution
• Clearing your head before and after the work day (my personal favorite)
• Avoiding Traffic

Here are some tips I’ve found that have really helped me get into and stay in the habit of riding my bike to work:

1) Prepare everything the night before

• Bike Clothes
• Work clothes (I use the acronym PUBSSS to make sure I have everything: Pants Underwear Belt Shirt Shoes Socks.  Helps cut through the morning brain fog)
• Lunch
• Saddlebags
• Gear: Helmet, gloves, lights etc. (personal note: Be smart and safe about it.  Wear a helmet, use lights when it’s dark and for goodness sake don’t ride your bike with earphones on unless you have a deathwish)

2) Think and tell yourself  ”I get to ride my bike to work tomorrow”

Notice how much more exciting that sounds than “I have to ride my bike to work tomorrow”.  Frame it in terms of a treat instead of a responsibility.  There are plenty of people out there with 1hr+ car commutes who never get the luxury of biking to work.  Be GRATEFUL that you not only have the opportunity, but you are capitalizing on it too.

3) Visualize riding to work before going to bed

This is common sports psychology.  You want  a result?  Visualize it.  Sports psychologists say to “visualize the win”.  What does that mean for you when this isn’t a competitive sport?  It means visualize getting up earlier.  Visualize yourself getting on your bike and heading to work.  Visualize yourself enjoying the ride along the way.   Visualize how happy you are that you got to ride your bike to work that day.  If you really want to strengthen your visualizations and REALLY psych yourself up try this:

• Associate into your visualizations.  See them from the first person, through your own eyes (instead of from an observer outside yourself)
• Add in other senses: audio (the sound of your wheels spinning, the sound of traffic), tactile (the wind blowing across your face as you ride, your heart beating faster, etc.) and meta-feelings (excitement, satisfaction, accomplishment etc.)

4) Make a point to always ride to work on Mondays.

This is a great way to build momentum for yourself and form a habit.  Monday can be the easiest day to skip because for many people it’s the hardest.  So if you make a point to be sure to ride your bike to work on Monday, you set a precedent for yourself that’s easier to follow the rest of the week.

5) Keep a log

Keep a log of how many times you ride your bike to work and how many miles you ride each week.  There’s a saying which goes “people play different when you’re keeping score”.  Set reasonable goals and track yourself against them.  I’ve found that the free site Greenlight Ride is easy to use for keeping track of your rides and your mileage.  For 2010 I’ve set a goal of 1700mi (aboutt 2700km) and I’m proud to say I’m on track.

Final words

Well there you go.  I hope I’ve given you some of the basic tools to become a bicycle commuter.  If you have any questions about biking to work, I will be happy to answer them in the comments section.

“To know and not to do is really not to know” -proverb

Photo by ernests

Most of the ideas behind work life balance are common sense.  But as many of us have seen, common sense isn’t all that common.  It’s easy to know, but difficult to practice consistently.  It’s easy to gloss over a lot of common sense things just saying “I know”, and move on.  Do any of these sound familiar coming from your mouth, or someone you know?

“I know I should exercise [more] but I just don’t have the time”

“I know I should be working on important thing X, but I’m just really tied up with urgent things Y&Z right now”

“I know what’s healthy, but it’s OK if I eat a whole bag of oreos, just this one time.  I’ll eat healthy again tomorrow”

“I know I shouldn’t be answering work emails while I’m on vacation, but I don’t want people back at the office to think I’m lazy”

At the rate that information comes at you in the 21st century, it’s easy to gloss over helpful information that can be put to good use and just say “yeah I know that”.  But if you’re not putting it to use on a regular basis, you really don’t know.  Because, to know and not to do is really not to know.  All the information in the world can’t help you if you’re not applying it.  Every field has its fair share of armchair experts, but to be truly knowledgeable you have to more than just know, you have to APPLY.

So let’s get DOING.

1. What’s a nugget of wisdom you know that you are applying every day?  Are you seeing results?
2. What about something you know plenty about but don’t put into practice yet?
3. What are some basic action steps you can start taking in your life NOW to put that unused nugget to use?
4. Go write them down, post them somewhere visible, and GET STARTED.

I don’t want this blog to have any political slant.  But this has been all over the news and I felt the need to offer a 3rd alternative viewpoint that hasn’t seen much press.  ”Don’t get sick” is still a great health policy, no matter what’s going on with healthcare in the US.  Whoah.  Now hear me out.  I don’t mean this in the Draconian sense.  But seriously, take responsibility for your own health. An ounce of prevention is still worth a pound of cure.  You are responsible for your own mind and body.  Take good care of it.  I don’t mean sitting on the couch watching reruns of MASH and burning through bags of doritos.  That is not taking care of yourself, no matter how relaxing it may seem.  The body is not a trash can, but so many of us treat it that way.  Well, garbage-in-garbage-out as they say.

Takeaway:
Healthcare begins with YOU.  Insurance, no insurance, government program, no government program.  You are the first line of defense for your own health.  This is a 3rd alternative solution that you can (and in my humble opinion, should) incorporate no matter what health insurance situation you are in.  Take good care of yourself!   In America we lead the world in obesity rates and spend billions of dollars on conditions that are PREVENTABLE. If you don’t do your due diligence taking care of yourself, how can you expect anyone else to when you need help?

There, that is all.  Now I’m gonna go on a bike ride.  That’s your queue to get off the computer and go do something active.

I’ve been using a spreadsheet on Google Docs to keep track of my 2010 goals.  Rather than explain why, I think this self evaluation will show you how you can use it to keep yourself accountable:



Excellent:

• Strength training sessions.  Getting this in every week.  I do a special workout that is only 1 30-minute session a week but afterwards I am lying on the ground completely exhausted, sore and out of breath.  More on how that works in a later blog post.
• Footbag sessions:  Yes, been doing plenty of that and loving it.
• Out of state footbag tournaments:  I set a goal to attend 3 this year.  1 so far, planning in the works on a 2nd and looking out for a 3rd.

On track:

• Books.  I’m taking the 50-book challenge this year.  I’ve read 9 and I have about 20 pages to go on #10.  11th week of the year I’m a little behind schedule.
• Bike riding miles: I set a goal to ride my bike 1700 miles this year.  Regular commute to work is 5 miles each way.  I’m a little behind, but I like to blame the winter weather for that.  I have no doubt spring and summer I’ll catch up here and hopefully shatter this goal.

Behind:

• Open mics.  I wanted to do a lot of comedy open mics this year, but it’s been prioritized low compared to exercise and a few other things.  I’m probably going to miss this goal
• Learning to cook new dishes… uh oh… nothing… Bueller?  anyone?  Better get on this…

As you can see main advantage to this method is that you can track your progress.  I have the google doc bookmarked and whenever I have an update, or want to see how I’m doing, it’s right there.  How are you doing on your 2010 goals? Do you remember what goals you set at the beginning of the year?  How are you keeping track?