How to ALWAYS achieve your goals (even when time isn't on your side)
Will Dyson ·
The problem with a lot of coaching programs or social media outlooks is that they're not practical.
It's difficult balancing things with a real job, kids, etc. - I've done this for 10 years going through my BSc, MSc, PhD while competing in bodybuilding, BJJ, doing CrossFit etc. and balancing my ...
It's difficult balancing things with a real job, kids, etc. - I've done this for 10 years going through my BSc, MSc, PhD while competing in bodybuilding, BJJ, doing CrossFit etc. and balancing my coaching business. And they're all (mostly) relatable things, and I have the skillset to make things relatively automatic.
And it's still tough when I get to the end of the day and I don't want to do what's scheduled sometimes, or don't want to do it beforehand for fear of how it might impact the rest of the day.
The most impactful habit you can adopt is being organised, and not in the way that you're probably used to...
Thinking about the week ahead on a Sunday and planning out your week in advance - not day by day but thinking "with everything else I have going on, what am I most likely going to be able to get done by the end of the week?”.
Start by putting your non-negotiables into your calendar (I use Google Calendar) - work, travel, meetings, food shop, kids etc.
Set your boundaries - bed and wake times (as 7-8 hours/night is non-negotiable), an hour to wind down in the evening, 30 minutes to get your shit together in the morning and check your schedule etc.
This should form the basis for a “realistic outlook” of your week.
IF you end up consistently falling short of time to exercise, either you’re not being pragmatic enough with your time, or you need to reassess your lifestyle priorities as, to be frank, looking after your health and fitness isn’t up for discussion. If you decide to not make time for your body, it will respond appropriately with a middle finger in the years to come. That is not a threat, but a cold certainty - and that’s on you.
Accordingly, next, define your health and fitness goals. This is essential if you're going to be able to take meaningful action. For example, mine are strength, fitness, (maintaining my) physique, olympic lifting, BJJ - bearing in mind that I'm a fitness professional; don't pick too many! Now we know what we're trying to contribute to.
If the week looks busy, tough, or I'm already feeling a bit on the back foot, I've learned over time that the way to tackle this isn't to spend ages creating "the perfect plan" (looking at you, fellow ADHD'ers), but instead to decide "what are my minimum effective contributions that I need to make to keep the needle moving with each goal?". Many of you will notice that I do this automatically when you have a week where you know what hits the fan, as if your only positive outcome is perfection, you are setting yourself up for failure.
Here's an example of how I handle my own goals:
Fitness - 2-3 hours of Z2, 15-30 mins Z4, 5-10 mins Z5. If it's a tough week, Z2 is most important, then Z4, then Z5. I can count Z3 as Z2 if I need to. At least one session needs to be a run.
Strength - 8 sets of Squats, Pull Ups, Bench and Hip Hinge (e.g. Deadlift/GHR).
Olympic Lifting - 3 sessions prescribed by my coach, one of which is accessory work. If it's a tough week, split (most of) the accessory work between the other two sessions. If it's a nuclear week, leave the accessory work and get the skill work done as that's most important.
BJJ - 2-3 sessions. Wednesday AM and Sunday AM at a minimum.
Once I have this "checklist", if the week gets ahead of me, I can then whittle away at these piece by piece as I've set my lifestyle up to be able to do that.
Fitness - I have an exercise bike and a pair of running trainers.
Strength - I have a barbell, weights, and a pull-up bar.
Olympic Lifting - see above, but also a gym membership. Well, three technically, but let's not remind my bank balance of that...
There have been times during writing my PhD thesis where it’s literally been a case of waking up, doing a 5k run in the garage, then jumping off every 200 m during 2K cool down to get some sets of pull-ups or ring dips in - 40 minutes and I’ve put away 4 sets of each and got a chunk of fitness work done.
I can do this as I've made those small investments in a home setup that mean I have backstops available. It started with a secondhand bike from FB Marketplace (£100), a £40 pair of trainers, and a cheap doorway pull-up bar from Amazon (I used to do dips instead of bench on the corner of the kitchen counters). Many of you are well aware that I've since invested about £10 000 into a home gym that's grown and grown but the reality is, none of that is necessary to keep the needle moving but there's an important lesson herein...
I took putting a price on my body and health off the table.
You have one body, and if I have to put a little away to ensure I look after it, it's a tiny price to pay for it letting me enjoy all the other fun things I like to do in life.
Don't overcomplicate it, the simpler your backup plan is, the more likely you are to do it; and the more likely you are to always have successful weeks.
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