I haven’t posted in a few days because I got tired. My weight has been going down and my lifts are going up – Which is great – But we just had a heatwave in Paris and my sleep has been off. My energy levels went down, I’ve been grumpy, I have less focus, less drive, and that’s usually a sign I should slow down and recover BEFORE actually getting ill.
Listen to what your body has to tell you and catch yourself before you fall.
So Now I’m BACK!! Rested 3 days and I the last 5 hours of waking up this weekend I have done more than this whole week.
Sometimes in life you feel that you are losing grip. Most of the advice out there is « GRIND IT OUT!” “DON’T SLEEP UNTIL YOU’RE SUCCESSFUL” “WHEN YOU FALL, YOU GET BACK UP!”.
That is all lovely and it probably gets you pumped up even as you are reading this. But life isn’t a movie. I used to think and act like that. Didn’t work for me. And it still doesn’t.
If you’re a little tired, rest a little. If you’re very tired, rest a lot. Try and keep your energy level as high as you can for as long as you can. If you’re on 4 hours of sleep at night trying to workout, creating your company, going out to the club, and writing a book, you’re going to be 10% effective on 20 hour workdays.
How about 100% productive on 8 hours. You’ll win, because those hours will produced 10 times the results of each 10% working hours. Less mistakes, less injuries, less angry e-mails that have drastic consequences….
Life is just better when you have more energy.
When you stumble (you will, that’s just how life goes) you have to slow down, catch yourself, and get back on track.
The idea isn’t to stop. That would kill the momentum. The idea is to be aware that something is wrong, accept it, adapt to the situation at hand, and correct for the future.
If you are feeling like that right now, here is a step by step process you can follow :
1) Awareness :
- Don’t obsess about it constantly, just realise when you’re in The Zone and when you’re not. The good days and the bad days. That alone will help you know when things are off, and prevent you from crashing into a wall and setting you back months in your progression.
2) Accept it :
- Accept that you are tired. Recognise it, and don’t fight it. Trying to plow through tiredness will just make it worse. This whole grind and shine doesn’t work. You’ll just get heart attacks, cancer, AND less productivity. Quality over quantity.
3) Adapt :
- Correct your workload. If you are very tired, do menial tasks that don’t ask for much of you, and let your mind rest. Reduce the number of workouts, exercises, weights, sets, or reps. Increase your food intake. Your body is telling you something is off. Listen to it.
4) Correct :
- There must have been something that triggered the tiredness. Maybe your sleep was off. Maybe your workouts increased too much. Maybe you cut your food down too much, or had too much alcohol one night. Maybe you’re fighting a bug you caught from someone, you changed a product you use, a situation came up that has caused too much stress…. Something you did, or came into contact with made you tired. Think about what it could have been and correct course. Tweak your plan, and get back on track for new progress.
This will help you recognise Great days and Bad days. Help you understand what makes one or the other, and make your life better in the long run. Wouldn’t it be great to NEVER get sick?
Keep track and stay strong, calm and and healthy.
And take it easy,
Morgan