I recently read The 5AM Club by Robin Sharma. I found the title corny and sure enough I was proven right. There are some parts of the books that irrelevant and one can do away with them. Especially the story he tells. I find it to be drawn out and you skip and just read Chapter 10, Chapter 12 and Chapter 15 where the meat of the book is. Moreover, some of the dialogue is just bad and doesn't resemble how human beings actually talk. Nevertheless, there were some good nuggets I picked up from the book and here they are
"But neither a bull nor a noble spirited man comes to be what he is all at once. He must undertake hard winter training and prepare himself and not propel himself rashly into what isn't appropriate for him" - Epicectus
Keystone Habit
What is a keystone habit? This a habit that when executed right, multiplies all your other habits or behaviors. This reminds me of The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg where he goes in depth regarding this. In this context, the keystone habit is waking up early in the morning hence the key phrase " Own you morning, elevate your life". I used to wake up a bit early but not early enough that I will have time to plan my day and prepare myself to take on whatever challenges that may lay ahead. I found waking up around 5AM gave me enough time to do all I wanted to do like learning, exercising and relaxing a bit before going to work.
The 20/20/20 Formula
This is a simple formula but when executed consistently, can yield great results. It as follows:
The first 20 minutes - Move
This means you exercise after you get up. This will make you sweat and get the heart pumping. This will give you a boost of energy, increase your awareness and provide the dopamine which makes you feel good after doing a workout
The second 20 minutes - Reflect
This involves journaling, meditating etc. This is where you cool down after the workout, relax and center yourself mentally preparing yourself for day. I find journaling to be good as you write down your thoughts at the time and in the process, you empty yourself leaving you at ease.
The last 20 minutes - Learn
This is where you learn something new either through a book, listening to a podcast etc. The choice is up to you.
The 60/10 Method
This means workings intensely for 60 minutes and take a break of 10 minutes. It is actually based on the Pomodoro Technique where you work in intervals with breaks in between. This allows you be very productive during the work intervals. An app like Forest helps with this. One of the features of the app that I like is that you accumulate coins every time you finish a work interval. Once you accumulate 2,500 coins, you can choose to plant one real life tree! So you get to be productive and contribute to saving the environment at the same time. I will make a video in future on how to use the app.
I use the 60/10 method a lot as I currently in the Manufacturing section where I do a lot of manual work. Focusing on working for an hour then taking a break ensures I work productively and minimize the chance of burning out.
The Second Wind Workout (2WW)
This is where you perform a second workout in the evening where you can release all the stress you have built up during the day. This will also give you a boost of energy for the energy and enable you wind down the day. Moreover, it will keep you fit and help you sleep better at night. I was having problems sleeping at night which I think is because of having too much energy you haven't used up yet. The 2WW helped with this and now I sleep soundly at night.
The Weekly Design System
Things that get scheduled are the things that get done as the author points out. This means carving out a 30 minute time block on Sunday to lay out your schedule for the week. I like this tactic as it allows me to schedule my workouts, learning etc making sure I stay on track and I highly recommend it.
Comments
Post a Comment