Tuesday, March 20, 2007

The Zero Time Work Out

I am in Fremont at board meetings. Off to an HP conference in San Diego.

I find when I travel I am less productive. Contributing to this are time zones, not having all the same tools, not having the people I want to interact with etc. What I realize though is much of it is about systems. When I travel, I do not have good enough systems. So I am working on polishing them (sort of a constant refrain in my life).

I also find I do not work out as much when I am on the road. Especially when I am in California. I like to work out early in the morning but because my schedule later in the day here tends to be less fixed, I know the only time I schedule calls is 9 or 10 AM EST which is 6 or 7 AM in California so I tend to work early and often there are dinners and meetings so I work late also. Poor planning.

As far as working out goes though, this is only a matter of discipline. I have long been of the view that short workouts take no time. If I run or lift weights for 25-30 minutes, it takes perhaps 45 minutes including a shower etc. If I schedule that to involve little travel (like on the way to work or in my hotel etc), then no additional travel time. And taking this 45 minutes easily allows me to sleep 20-25 minutes less. And I will easily be brighter and crisper so can gain more than 20-25 minutes during my day. So there you have it - working out takes no time (just perhaps a bit of planning and discipline)

2 comments:

  1. I would say to work out on regular basis....discipline does it for me!

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  2. Found your blog while searching for leadership blogs--thinking of starting one myself. Liked your thoughts on "systems" and emphasis on time management. Think these are closely linked. Bad systems=bad time management. Especially liked the zero time work out--great way to look at it!

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