| Is there so much on your Microsoft Outlook | | | | that this is for THEIR benefit as much as mine, |
| Calendar it is impossible to see any gaps. Fitting in | | | | they discover a freedom and opportunity that |
| your workouts would just not be possible, you'd | | | | they had not recognised before! |
| have to cancel it anyway because meetings | | | | The following tips for scheduling and planning your |
| always over run, or someone else wants another | | | | work and workouts have been used successfully |
| "quick" meeting with you! | | | | by some of my busiest clients with great success: |
| Whether you are a top executive, middle | | | | - Plan to check email only twice a day, just |
| management or team player, the working day is | | | | before lunch and just before you go home in the |
| full of distractions, seemingly "important" | | | | evening. Keep it turned off at all others times. - |
| appointments and meetings. | | | | Arrange and accept meetings only in the morning, |
| Many of us confuse work and "busy work". Busy | | | | maximum of 30 minutes |
| work is the answering of phone calls, reading and | | | | - Afternoon is for real work, do 50 minute blocks |
| answering emails, impromptu meetings with your | | | | of work, then break for 10. - Mark all this in your |
| boss or co-workers, that consume so much of | | | | calendar, blocking out specific times of the day |
| your day. Your days get longer, lunch hours are | | | | for this. |
| reduced to a hurried sandwich at your desk, and | | | | - Put in all your workouts for the week 5 or 6 |
| late night work to finish a project becomes the | | | | sessions of 20-40 minutes are enough, the |
| norm. | | | | morning, lunch and evenings are obvious times. |
| The unstructured day drains your energy and is | | | | Sacrifices will need to be made though to make |
| frankly a waste of time. Your training gets missed | | | | this fit. |
| too frequently, and then dropped altogether. Not | | | | - Fix your sports specific training in as well, keep |
| only does your sporting ability suffer but your | | | | the training focussed and goal orientated |
| entire "out of work" life too, there is no balance. | | | | As obvious and as simplistic as these suggestions |
| If your sports and fitness training really are | | | | seem, they are extremely effective if you stick |
| important to you, you need to do something | | | | to the rules without deviation for 5 weeks. By this |
| about this otherwise weeks and months will pass | | | | point, not only will you become more effective |
| you by with no structured workouts done. | | | | with your planning, your work colleagues will be |
| Solutions to this big problem are everywhere, all | | | | better "educated" with how you view your |
| sorts of technology solutions are available to | | | | precious time and respect the rules you put in |
| better manage your time, but often these tools | | | | place. |
| become even more time consuming to use and | | | | Give these rules a try starting immediately, go to |
| ultimately become "busy work" too. | | | | your scheduler and be brutal with the marker pen |
| I have tried numerous electronic organisers from | | | | to block out sections of your day for specific |
| Outlook, online calendars, PDAs, phones, etc etc. I | | | | actions. Stop the rot of busy work and turn off |
| have found coming back to a basic paper | | | | the phone and email notifier! |
| scheduler to be the most powerful tool. | | | | Claim back control of your training schedule and |
| As a trainer it is impossible for me to see every | | | | make these appointments as big a priority as |
| single client when it suits them, I force them to | | | | your work appointments. It is not easy to start |
| work their schedule around me, when they realise | | | | with and I wish you luck. |