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Don’t you hate it when you have a big insight, a major revelation, only to realize that
several people have thought of it already? Well, my big insight this week is one of those, but
I’m sharing it with you anyway: most of us are trying to do too much.
OK, startups are notorious for having more work to do than people or time to do it in. But the
insidious part is that I often find myself thinking, “I’m way too busy to work
out today. I’d better just stay at my desk.”
Wrong, wrong, wrong!
As a nation, we’ve developed a distorted idea of how much we should be able to do in any
given period of time. My new rule is: Don’t get sucked in. The to-do list is endless,
and you will never finish everything on it.
Put fitness on the list
So now, on the days when my workload feels so overwhelming that exercise seems impossible,
that’s when time management becomes my best friend. If I prioritize my tasks, and look at
what I absolutely must get done by close of business, it almost always turns out that I
really don’t have to sacrifice my fitness for my job.
Besides, I’ve tried it the other way, and it doesn’t work. I can promise you that for
every day I’ve decided, “Forget it, I just don’t have time to work out
today,” I’ve gotten less done than I would have if I’d exercised. When I
“save time” by skipping my workout, I feel less urgency to make every minute
count. As a result, I’m less efficient. You know the old story about the two men
chopping wood, and one keeps stopping to rest while the other just goes on working? And of
course, the one who stops ends up chopping the most wood, because he sharpens his axe every
time he stops. Think of taking a workout break as sharpening the axe. You’ll be a lot more
productive when you get back.
So if you start to feel that you don’t have time for health and fitness, don’t let
this assumption go unexamined. It’s not worth postponing your health while you try to do
the impossible.
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