Discipline

My simple framework for consistency

March 22, 2023

Consistency is by far the most important factor in achieving long-term results. In fact, one of my favourite quotes at the moment is:

“Little by little, a little becomes a lot”

Small actions taken consistently, really do add up to some very significant results over the long-term.

Consistency is open to interpretation though. Doing something 100% of the time is being consistent. So, what’s 90%? What’s 80%? Where do you draw the line?

If you set the bar too high, it can often backfire. It becomes too hard to sustain. Ironically, trying to be too consistent, will actually cause inconsistency. On the flip side, if you set the bar too low, you won’t do a behaviour frequently enough to get results.

Recently, I’ve been thinking a lot about what exactly consistency means to me. I’ve settled on a definition and framework that feels right. I suspect it’s also the right way for most people to think about it:

A minimum of 80% consistency over a period of 30 days – with no more than two consecutive misses.

There are three parts to this, let’s break this down a bit.

80% consistency

I’ve found that 80% is a perfect balance between being consistent enough to get impressive results – yet still giving you the flexibility to enjoy your life and deal with challenging periods. Everything above 80% starts to become diminishing returns, when you take into account the marginal gains vs. the trouble you run into. It’s not worth the trade off.

30 days

Thirty days is a good length of time to measure consistency. It helps you see the bigger picture. You’re less likely to get bent out of shape by having a bad day – or even a bad couple of days. You can afford to miss up to six times in a 30 day period, and still achieve 80%.

Two consecutive misses

The consecutive misses aspect of consistency is something that I only recently figured out. It might even be more important than 80% and 30 days.

A single miss is easy to recover from. As we know, you can afford six of them in a 30 day period and still achieve 80% consistency. But, if you do have a miss, you must try and put things right the following day. Because, where one miss is a blip, two consecutive misses becomes the start of a pattern. The probability of another miss is higher after two consecutive misses. And so on, for three misses, and four misses etc. It’s a very slippery slope. So, I’ve found that you should try very hard to avoid two consecutive misses. And you never want to go more than two consecutive misses.

To give a bit of context, here’s how my habits are looking for March so far (21 days in):

The first thing you’ll notice is aside from 10K steps (a new habit I’m establishing a baseline for), I’m on track to achieve 80% for every habit. For some habits, I’m even trending towards between 90 and 100%. That’s fantastic, but it’s the icing on the cake and not my goal. I just happen to find those habits easier to do.

You’ll also notice that other than 10K steps, you won’t find more than one consecutive miss. When I miss (whether the miss is intentional or not – and sometimes it is intentional), I try very hard not to have another consecutive miss afterwards. And if I ever miss twice on the row, I’m on high alert.

So, a minimum of 80% consistency over a period of 30 days – with no more than two consecutive misses. That’s how I define consistency. It helps me get impressive results and live a balanced life.

I encourage you to spend some time thinking about what consistency means for you. Define it in a way that leaves no ambiguity. Because, when you get clear on stuff like this – things really start to click.

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Defining self discipline (and why you have to build it)

February 22, 2023

As I’ve built a more disciplined life, I’ve become clearer on what self discipline means to me.

Ultimately, it comes down to this:

Self Discipline = Consistently doing things you don’t want to do

Now, on the surface that sounds pretty miserable right? One could make the argument – what sort of a life is that to live? But, let me tell you, without any doubt at all, it’s EXACTLY the right type of life to live.

The things you don’t want to do aren’t usually big or horrible – they’re minor points of discomfort. In most cases, it’s not even discomfort – it’s more that there is an easier and more comfortable alternative. And once you get into it, it’s always less uncomfortable than you imagine.

Let me give you some examples:

I never feel like drinking a litre of water within the first thirty minutes of waking up. It’s not overly uncomfortable to do. There’s just an element of discomfort, and therefore friction associated with it. Instead, its very tempting to wake up, drink a black coffee and get started with the day. But, almost every morning, drinking a litre of water within thirty minutes of waking up is exactly what I do. Because I know if I don’t, I will struggle to hit my goal of three litres per day.

I rarely feel like working out. I’d guess I feel like it about 20% of the time. It’s always tempting to put it off and do something easier and warmer instead. But, if I plan to workout, I WILL workout. I push the temptation to the back of my mind, put on my trainers, and get out for a walk (first part of my warm up). I then get into the garage gym and push through the rest of the warm up (yeah – still not feeling like working out). Then I get into the session. By now, I’m either happy to be doing it, or at least OK with it. I continue to push through that early friction and discomfort because I know I have to do it. If I want to be healthy, fit and happy in my own skin, I have to do it.

Everyday, I eat within an eight hour window – usually between 1PM and 9PM. I start to become aware of some hunger around mid morning (I’m feeling it now as I write this at 11:30). I feel this because I’m either genuinely hungry, or because eating would be nice (I kinda like food). Almost every day, I observe that feeling of hunger and discomfort, and I choose not to eat. I do this because I know sticking to my fasting period helps me eat less and make better food choices. This is foundational to my health and fitness goals.

Like I said, these examples are not big or horrible things. Simply, they are things I would rather not be doing – and there is a much easier and comfortable alternative.

My day is filled with these moments. Whilst I don’t choose the right option all of the time, I do choose it most of the time (80% is good enough, remember?).

OK, let’s go back to the argument of consistently doing things you don’t want to do – what sort of a life is that to live? Exactly the right one. These moments aren’t a huge hardship. They’re about making conscious decisions to delay short term gratification, for a much, much bigger prize.

What is that much, much bigger prize?

It’s being at a body weight I am comfortable with. It’s being comfortable taking my top off. It’s having energy. It’s being in a good and optimistic mood. It’s being in good health – meaning a good lifespan and healthspan [1]. It’s having pride and confidence, that comes from making good decisions and living life the right way.

Imagine the inverse – leading an undisciplined life. One where you take the easier and more comfortable option more often than not. That leads to being overweight. Being embarrassed to take my top off. Being tired a lot of the time. Feeling down. Having health problems. Struggling with confidence. Fuck that. It makes all of those moments of discomfort worth it.

I’ll say one other thing, that I only realised in writing this article. The sense of pride and confidence you feel from consistently doing things you don’t want to do, is one hell of a feeling. It helps to soften and neutralise those moments of discomfort.

It’s clear to me that the bigger prize, combined with how you feel about yourself on a day to day basis when you consistently do things you don’t want to do – that’s exactly the right life to live. There’s no question about it.

Notes:

[1] Lifespan is the total number of years we live, whereas healthspan is how many of those years we remain healthy and free from disease.

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The biggest threat to building discipline and consistency

January 30, 2023

Even when you’re disciplined, rarely do you get a perfect day. When one arrives though, it’s really something to savour.

When you live a disciplined life, most days are good though. Each one is a solid step forward and something to be proud of. But, now again, there’s a potential car crash waiting around the corner. ‘Potential’ and ‘around the corner’ are key words there. It doesn’t have to happen. And that’s where a mitigation plan comes in.

What’s wrong with the odd car crash you might ask? Quite a lot.

For a start, it destroys momentum. Nothing is as big a threat to consistency than when momentum is disrupted. If you drink three litres of water every day, and then have a day or two where you don’t drink any? I can guarantee it’ll be at least twice as hard to drink three litres of water the next day. Five times as hard the following day.

A car crash seriously messes with your results. At best, it will cause your week to break even. But usually it puts you at least a few steps back. You then have to use the next few weeks to gain the ground back.

But, here’s why a car crash is particularly disastrous for consistency. Like a virus, it has a way of spreading and infecting other habits and behaviours in your life. Let’s say you’re used to sleeping seven hours a night, but choose to party hard one night and you only get four hours sleep. Every other habit and behaviour you hold dear is now under threat. It’ll be harder to eat well, exercise, drink water etc. It’s a very steep and slippery slope. Before you know it, many of your habits and behaviours are coming crumbling down.

That’s a long way of saying, you have to avoid car crashes if you want to hold onto a disciplined life.

This is where a mitigation plan comes in. If you know you have something potentially disruptive around the corner, you have to think ahead. What can you do to proactively tilt the balance so severely the other way – that you turn a car crash into a blip?

Blips are fine. A blip doesn’t destroy momentum. A blip doesn’t cause you to fall off the wagon. A blip doesn’t dent your results in the same way a car crash will. You can take a few blips every week and still sit nicely in the 80 / 20 zone (the place where you can enjoy life and reap the benefits of being disciplined and consistent).

Let me give you a couple of examples for what a mitigation plan looks like in practice:

Last week I had a meal out with friends. Even with my best willpower effort (and taking into account I was going to let loose a bit), it was inevitably going to be a high calorie and carb evening. So, I made sure to ensure every one of my seven tracked habits was in the bank beforehand. I was more active than I might usually have been that day. I also fasted until later in the day and made sure to head into the dinner with low calories, high protein and low carbs:

This tilted the balance so severely the other way, that it mitigated the evening meal. I didn’t end up tracking the evening meal (it’s hard to do in a restaurant), but I would guess my mitigation helped me roughly stay inline with where my total calories would be on a normal day. Sure, carbs would have been a bit higher than I would usually like, but it is what it is. Importantly, I downgraded a potential car crash to a blip.

Here’s another example. We went to a friend’s house in the village on Saturday night to play some poker. I suspected it was going to be a later night than I would usually have (I’m normally in bed by 10PM). I also often get up early on a Sunday morning (between 6 and 7AM) to go for a long walk. This all meant there was a pretty good chance of getting disastrous sleep and falling below my 6.30 hour goal.

Thinking ahead, I decided to change a few things. I’d skip the early morning walk. I also wouldn’t set an alarm, and would allow myself whatever time I needed to be fully rested.

It turns out it wasn’t a crazy late night, but it was enough to see me go to bed over an hour later than I might usually (it was worth it, poker was fun!). My daughter woke up about 5AM and got into our bed too, which disrupted my sleep further. As I had planned for, I woke up much later than I might have usually – 8AM.

This all meant I ended up with an epic sleep of 8:17 hours!

Intentionally waking later was the ultimate mitigation. Even if the poker night went on later than it did, my 6.5 hour sleep goal would have been safe. But, I went further than simply protecting it. I ended up turning a potential car crash into a WIN – because 8:17 was one of my top five sleeps of the month!

There’s nothing complicated, or even hard about a mitigation plan. What most people lack is the self awareness of upcoming events that will threaten your consistency – and to understand why that’s fatal. Once you get that, it’s easy and it feels natural to plan ahead and mitigate. And when you do this, you’ll find it so much easier to be consistent with the habits and behaviours you care about.

A last word on mitigation. It’s an advanced strategy. It assumes that you have built some discipline and consistency to start with. If you haven’t, start there. My best advice for that is to focus on one habit at a time and visually track your progress – as I do every month.

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Why you have to build a disciplined life

January 10, 2023

As I build a more disciplined life, I understand why discipline equals freedom.

As you build more discipline, you start to feel more free. I know that doesn’t make sense on the surface. Wouldn’t being more disciplined lead to fewer choices? Nope, in fact, the exact opposite.

Almost every day, I drink two cups of espresso – never after midday. I’ve built this habit and it’s now easy to do. It requires no thought or effort. If I ever break it, it’s an intentional choice and worth it.

But, I used to drink at least ten cups of tea from the moment I woke up, to going to bed. I could never resist a double espresso after a big meal out at a restaurant. I tried to cut down many times, and found it very difficult. I knew it was too much caffeine. I knew it was hurting my sleep and therefore my health. Yet, it seemed to have a control over me that was too hard to break.

Almost every day, I drink two litres of water. This one requires a little more intention, but it’s not hard. I drink a litre quickly and early in the day. And I have a 1 litre Yeti water bottle that makes it easy to remember to drink more water – which I do.

But, I used to drink hardly any water on any given day. I’d remember at multiple points throughout the day, but never actually did the right thing and actually drink some water. Sometimes I would drink a glass or two, but it felt like a massive chore. I knew if I drank more water, I would feel better and be healthier. Yet, I still struggled to nail down the habit.

Almost every day, I push back my first bite of food to about 14.00. Only water and espresso until then. If I ever break it, again, it’s an intentional choice. This helps me be clear headed, alert and productive in the mornings. It helps me control my appetite and calorie intake. It helps keep my weight at the right level – which makes me feel good and gives me better health. And perhaps most importantly, it gives me control over my relationship with food. I’ll eat when I need to eat. I’ll eat when I say I’ll eat.

But, I used to eat as soon as I woke up. And from there, it was an autopilot, graze fest through to bed time. I’d eat for the sake of it. I’d get energy slumps throughout the day. I was often bloated and uncomfortable from eating too much and too frequently. I felt like a slave to food.

I could go on and on. Which versions of these sound more free? Which versions of these lead to more peace of mind? Which versions of these have more choice? Which versions of these lead to a higher quality life – both in the moment you decide to let loose a bit (i.e today I’m going to enjoy having pancakes for breakfast) and also in the long term (better long-term health)?

I can guarantee you, it’s totally possible to go from undisciplined to disciplined. And when you taste it, there’s no going back. But, talking about it and hoping for things to get better won’t work. You need to put systems in place. You need to get people around you that will keep you accountable.

A great first step is writing out your habits and then tracking them on a daily basis. It doesn’t have to be fancy – as you can see 😉

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A perfect day

January 4, 2023

Yesterday was about as perfect as it gets.

I woke from a 8:21 sleep – a solid 50% of deep and REM sleep and 100% of my total sleep need (according to whoop)

I fasted (black coffee and water) until 14.30.

My diet was pure perfection. 2000 calories, with 40% protein, 40% fat and 20% carbs. That’s a massive 193 grams of protein.

I had 2 cups of caffeine before 11am.

I drank 2 litres of water.

I took my supplements.

I had a great training session – a nice long warm up, some upper body strength, conditioning on the bike, followed by a decent cool down.

Of course, no alcohol (537th day sober).

It’s rare that a day of habits comes together as perfectly as this. And that’s sort of the point.

A few years ago, I would have held this type of day as the minimum benchmark to feel satisfied. I was so goal oriented, that nothing less than hitting all of my perfect goals was good enough. Almost all of the time, I was overwhelmed and frustrated by not achieving my goals.

Fast forward to today, and perfection is not the goal. 80% consistency is good enough. I don’t get bent out of shape if I miss some stuff. I know 80% is where most of the rewards are. At 80%, I look and feel better than I ever have. I’m happier than I’ve ever been.

Striving for perfection makes for a miserable life. Because as soon as you know you’re not going to hit perfection (usually, very early in the day), it’s easy to talk yourself into completely giving up until the next day. This is horrible for building consistency. And consistency ALWAYS wins over perfection.

Last year I laid the groundwork with my health. I found a way to be consistent with health habits and by working with my personal trainer, we found an optimal way for me to train consistently. This year, I’m going to build myself into a goddamn machine. And I’m going to do it with patience, 80% consistency, and a smile on my face. 😊

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Having rules for yourself

November 24, 2022

Yesterday I listened to Joe Rogan’s conversation with Steven Pressfield (author of the War of Art). It’s a brilliant, wide ranging conversation on many things. What stood out for me, was their discussion on why it’s important to have rules for yourself.

I’m a big fan of having rules for my life. In fact, the rules I have for myself are now becoming deeply ingrained habits. When I describe them to others, I often get a surprised look. I mean, I get it – it really does sound like a lot when I say them out loud. But, it also doesn’t seem like a lot to me, because I’ve become normalised to it.

I don’t drink alcohol.
I sleep over six and a half hours a day.
I eat within an eight hour window (usually between 1PM and 9PM) – fasting for sixteen hours
I drink a maximum of two cups of caffeine a day, and never after midday
I drink at least two litres of water every day
I take supplements every day (vitamin c, multivitamin, fish oil, vitamin d, quercetin, zinc and magnesium)
I eat over 120 grams of protein a day

The above rules are virtually non negotiable. I hold myself accountable to them and track them daily.

I say virtually non negotiable, because I’m not perfect. Shooting for perfection isn’t realistic. It’s also not how I want to live my life. The 80/20 is where you find the sweet spot for most of the rewards – but with the flexibility to have some fun and stay sane too. It took me a very long time to learn that.

My life is so much better for having these rules. I feel great. I’m in good health. I’m at a weight I am happy with. I have better mental health. Overall, they help contribute to a happier and more productive life.

But, what’s important is I know my rules. I know why I have each one. I don’t have to go through the mental gymnastics each day – wondering and debating what types of things I should probably do. I don’t have to wait for, or rely on hitting rock bottom to find the motivation to do these things. I just do them. It’s who I am.

So, whilst on the surface it looks like a lot of discipline, it’s actually incredibly liberating. As Jocko Willink says, Discipline = Freedom.

I’ve also started to re-read Daily Rituals: How Artists Work this week. What another great reminder of how important rules and routines are. It’s not a coincidence that some of the most successful and productive artists of all time had self-imposed daily rituals and rules for their life.

So, here’s the big question. Do you have any rules for yourself?

If you don’t, consider coming up with one rule that would help you live a happier and more productive life. Commit to it. Track it. Keep plugging away until it literally becomes who you are. You may just find this becomes an inflection point that leads you towards many other positive changes in your life.

And as usual, if you want any help with anything like this, hit me up.

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Perfection is not the goal

May 11, 2022

I was off to an absolutely cracking start for my habits in May. You could say, a perfect start.

My goal was to maintain the habits that I’ve recently got to 80% consistency:

sleep 6.5 hours
drink two litres of water
drink a maximum of three cups of caffeine (before midday)
take my supplements

I also wanted to eat paleo and intermittently fast (as per my new stricter rules) at 50% consistency.

I was particularly impressed with my first six days of sleep. A perfect record and an average of 7:35 hours a night. But then days 7, 8, & 9 happened. They were still above 6.5 hours, but getting a bit close to the wire. I started to feel disappointed that I wasn’t able to keep up with the 7 and 8 hours numbers from the first six days.

And then, I came in with a 3:52 for day 10.

I was disappointed with myself. I could have easily avoided the 3:52. Instead, I went to bed late when I knew I would be getting up at 04.30 the next morning – and I ruined my perfect record.

But, wait. Let’s back up a minute.

I KNEW I would come in shockingly low on day 10. I even made the decision to stay up late consciously. I did it with knowledge I was easily on track enough to still achieve my sleep goal for the month (80%).

Let’s back up even further. Why on earth was I disappointed on days 7, 8 and 9? They were ABOVE the goal of 6.5 hours. I was literally disappointed with achieving my goal!

If I take an even more macro view of things – even with day 10 – I am at 90% consistency with sleep for the month. That’s nicely ABOVE my 80% goal. It’s a great month so far. Everything is well above my goal, with only paleo lagging a bit – and I have plenty of time to course correct on that.

So, why do I find myself disappointed and giving myself a hard time? Why do I find myself slipping into perfection being the goal?

One word. Expectations.

I’ve gone most of my adult life holding myself to high and unrealistic standards. I’ve managed to change my mentality around this in the last few years. But, it’s so incredibly easy to fall back into the trap of letting my expectations run out of control. Before you know it, I’m changing the goal posts and having a crappy internal dialogue with myself.

The silver lining is that nowadays I‘m able to catch this happening early. I can then pause and zoom out – see things for what they really are.

And this is what I see. I’ve made a breakthrough with my habits in the last few months and have found a system that works. I’m smashing May. I’m on an upward trend with momentum. I can be happy and proud of where I am in general. I literally find myself looking at my habit sheets and day, hardly believing it’s me doing it.

Perfection is not the goal. Nearly all of the benefits happen in the 80 – 90% consistency range. That’s where you can live a successful, healthy and balanced life.

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Building a baseline

September 27, 2021

It’s much easier to maintain a baseline than it is to build one.

A few examples:

It’s hard to reach your ideal weight. It requires a lot of consistency around activity and diet. But, once you get there, it’s fairly easy to maintain it with an 80/20 approach. You’d have to have a prolonged period of inactivity and bad eating to reverse things.

It’s hard to get out of debt. It requires you to live below your means and consistently pay off the debt. But, once you get there, it’s easier to stay on top of things. Building some savings often feels easier than getting out of debt.

It’s hard to build up to running a 5K. But, once you get there, you could take a few weeks off and still get one done. Sure, it’d be harder, but it would take months of no running to find yourself in a position where you can’t run a 5K.

Why is that?

Well, need to establish new habits and behaviours to reach a baseline with something. It’s hard to establish them in the first place. But, once you do, it’s easier to keep them going. They become part of your new normal.

Momentum is a part of it too. It’s hard to build momentum. But, once you have momentum, you have to be pretty negligent to lose it.

And then you have the mindset factor. When you’re building towards something, it can often feel impossible to reach. But, when you get there, you have a different relationship with it. It’s no longer such an impossibility – it’s the new normal. Case in point, the 4 min mile.

This is all useful because it helps motivate you to do the hard work that it requires to build a baseline. Remember, it won’t always be that hard.

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Five things I’ve found to be super helpful in establishing new habits

March 3, 2021

Here are five things I’ve found to be super helpful in establishing new habits.

Make them visible

I have a few key habits that I like to do every day. Eat paleo, eat within an 8 hour window, consume roughly 2K calories, drink 3 litres of water, take my vitamins, and reach out to a couple of people.

I write them at the top of my daily planning page. This forces me to look at them frequently throughout the day – increasing my chances of sticking to them. It also encourages me to reflect on how I did, more than I would otherwise.

Don’t break the chain

I heard about the Seinfeld Strategy from James Clear. It’s surprisingly effective.

It’s as simple as having a wall calendar, and marking an X for every day you stick to your habit. It becomes very addictive to grow the chain, and not break it.

I use this for moderating how much alcohol I drink. I’m aiming for a once a week, with a two drink limit. And for the most part, it’s helping me stay on track.

Keep experimenting

I used to struggle to drink enough water. Then, one day I randomly decided to drink two 500ml bottles of water as the first thing I did after waking. It was a game changer. Not only did it put me at 33% of my daily goal within minutes – it also changed my behaviour. It was really easy to drink a 500ml bottle in one go. So, I just down a 500ml bottle of water each time I want a drink now. And I have the opposite problem – not going too far over 3 litres of water a day!

One at a time

It’s REALLY hard to try and establish multiple habits at the same time. Yet, it’s so easy to fall into this trap.

Be disciplined and pick one. Nail it properly, and then pick another. Trust me, there is plenty of time. If you successfully establish a handful of new habits per year, you’ll transform your life every year.

Start small

I’ve lost count of the times I’ve tried to establish really ambitious habits straight away. Inevitably, I do it for a few days (a few weeks at best), but then fall off the wagon.

Want to drink 3 litres of water a day? Start with a glass. Want to eat healthily every day? Start with just breakfast. Etc.

Then, once you’ve got these small new habits established, you can step it up from there.

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The counter-intuitive way to get freedom

July 2, 2020

It’s rare that I read an article and think – I wish I had written that. That’s exactly how I felt after reading Wise People Have Rules For Themselves by David Cain.

I agree with every single word.

It sounds odd to say ‘discipline equals freedom’ – but it does. It’s counter-intuitive. When you set rules for yourself that you know are good for you, it’s actually liberating. It’s a huge relief. You no longer have to flip flop between things that work, somewhat work and don’t work. You lean in towards what works for you. You live a life on your terms.

I’d even go as far to say, if you don’t have many rules for yourself, it’s because you haven’t experimented enough with different ways to live your life. I think this is why people tend to enjoy life more when they get older. When you’re younger, life is a range of options and you haven’t had enough time to figure out what works for you. As you get older, you tend to settle into what works for you.

How do you find out what works for you? Well, for a start you have to develop a philosophy and mindset to be the best version of yourself. You have to try different things – and for a long enough period (usually 30 days does the trick). Sometimes it involves stopping something. Sometimes doing something new, or simply just something different.

You then have to notice how these changes impact your life, and make a decision on how that becomes a part of your life. Or, not.

Here are some rules I have for myself, which make my life better:

I eat during an 8-hour window, and then fast for the remaining 16 hours. So, I skip breakfast, and eat between 12.00PM and 8.00PM
I drink a maximum of 3 cups of caffeine a day, and they must be before noon.
I eat paleo 80% of the time (this is my most challenging rule to stick to) I drink 2 litres of water each day
I wake up early (usually for 05.00)
My mornings also follow the same structure – Breathe, Think and Do.
I spend about 2 hours each weekend, planning the following week
I spend about 15-20 mins every evening, planning the following day
I finish every shower with 30 secs of cold water
Ella and I spend 10-15 mins every Sunday, syncing our diaries for the next couple of months.

I’ve settled on the above rules through a lot of experimentation. And from there, realising that there is a significant net positive to my life by sticking to these rules.

I wish I could say I have 100% consistency with these rules, but that’s not realistic. Some are easier than others to stick to. For example, I don’t have to think about skipping breakfast, or limiting my caffeine to 3 cups before noon. But, sticking to paleo, and drinking 2 litres of water every day – that’s a bit more hit and miss.

I’m experimenting with alcohol at the moment. As of today, I haven’t had a drink for 25 days. My life is SO much better without it. I’m leaning towards giving up forever. Perhaps I will only have a drink on very special occasions, and limit it to three drinks. I’m still thinking about that.

Now, you may still be thinking, that’s a very rigid way to live your life. Loosen up, have some fun. And that’s a valid point.

A good friend sent me a great article the other day – Let Yourself Be Unproductive. At Least for a Little While. I agree with alot of it.

I do think it’s important to have periods where you let go of some, or even all rules. In fact, just to let go of trying to be productive. There’s absolutely a place for building in periods of no structure – where you let go of calendars, tasks lists and rules. And actually, this is often necessary to keep a good balance. It also can be critical to break through key phases of life, or to recharge from intense periods.

Balance is the key word there. Most people are much happier when they have their life well organised as the baseline. More often than not, it’s better to have rules, and a system for how to live your life. That’s your foundation. And from there, you can build in periods of rest and downtime where you see fit.

As I said at the beginning, I wish I had written Wise People Have Rules For Themselves. But, I’ll settle for being able to share it with you, and share some of my rules 🙂

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