What I'm Learning Now

Delay Gratification

I've noticed that I have a tendency to go to extremes.  When I find a good book, I fill my days with reading it.  Unfortunately, this leads to a lot of angst trying to find the necessary free time. After a while I reach a point of saturation and become bored. I've seen the same thing happen with surfing ESPN.com, listening to podcasts, exploring recipes, and searching for new training techniques. With ESPN, I've purposely set boundaries to only visit the website during my third meal of the day.  As a result, I have something to look forward to and it maintains it's pleasure. I'm starting to do the same with my Podcasts and books.

Set Boundaries on Email and Social Media

I recently read a blog by Eric Baker on the daily activities of highly successful people. His number one tip is to stop checking email in the morning. He says checking email sets you up to react and gives your best hours to someone else’s goals. Your objectives become hijacked by others. Mr Baker referenced research that email: stresses you out, can turn you into a jerk, is more addictive than alcohol and tobacco, and checking email frequently may drop your IQ by 10 points. His suggestion is to wait one or two hours before viewing your email. For the past week, I've been delaying email until 4-7 pm and it's worked. I'm more focused on my priorities and not get distracted by others.

Recharge In The Evening Without TV or Internet

According to the American Psychological Association, the most effective stress-relief strategies are exercising or playing sports, praying or attending a religious service, reading, listening to music, spending time with friends or family, getting a massage, going outside for a walk, meditating or doing yoga, and spending time with a creative hobby. The least effective strategies are gambling, shopping, smoking, drinking, eating, playing video games, surfing the Internet, and watching TV or movies for more than two hours. Recently, I've stopped watching TV in the evening, which has opened up more time to read. No more flipping through channels trying to find something that is halfway decent to watch. Now I have more time for things that I want to do and are guaranteed to be rewarding.