Become The CEO Of Yourself — A Guide To Establishing Healthy Habits
How To Establish Healthy Habits To See Renewed Focus In Your Work And Life
*This article was originally published on Forbes here.
Since high school, I have placed high priority on living healthy. For years, I maintained rock-solid self-discipline, avoiding french fries without a flinch. To this day, I’m meticulous about following a self-established rule of not wasting calories on liquids, except for alcohol and black iced coffee.
When it came to work, I put the same endurance into my craft, grinding out hours beyond the traditional 9-to-5. In the advertising agency world, 7 p.m. nights developing marketing plans while drinking a few beers was the norm.
Over the last few years, several life events culminated in a regression of healthy habits. I became lazy in my discipline and motivation, which began to impact every part of my life. I was constantly tired, sustained injuries from sports and ate unhealthy meals.
Switching jobs added new stressors. Getting married and purchasing our first home drastically reduced my free time. I had projects I didn’t know how to complete, but I would still celebrate minor victories by lazily driving the three blocks to Anderson’s: “I’ll have a large roast beef please, and sure, throw in the seasoned fries.”
Then I read an article about a CEO, Josh Steimle, who prioritized scheduling workouts over meetings, which coincided with stepping on the scale at the heaviest I’d ever been. That was my breaking point. While not having the flexibility of being a small company CEO, I could still be the CEO of myself. I attended my first adult group class the next day.
What does this have to do with most people’s priorities — their work and family?
You don’t have to take drastic steps to improve your health, but starting small can lead to a cascade of energy. It was a struggle to get back into a routine waking up sore at 5:30 a.m., but after a few months, I was down 20 pounds, more flexible than ever and felt stronger than when I played high school sports.
Here are a few takeaways to get you started:
- Start with your alarm clock. After gradually adjusting my bedtime, I saw an improvement in my quality of sleep, an enhanced focus at work and more positive energy to offer my family and friends. Even if you aren’t a morning person, you can accomplish a lot by waking up just 30 minutes earlier to give yourself time to start the day accomplished. Fitting in workouts in the morning helped me start the day early and energized while allowing for more time with my son after work.
- Try something new. Fitness should not be boring or painful. In fact, you’ll hate it even more if it is. Find something you like and don’t worry about new fad exercises. Introducing yoga classes and stretching into my routine, exercises I never thought I needed 10 years ago, has reduced the number of times I’ve been injured. That quiet time has led to deeper self-reflection and patience. I discovered that I really enjoy it.
- Set up personal mini challenges throughout the day. It is easier to accomplish what seems like a daunting task if you break it up. During my first group training class, we did a 12-minute treadmill test at max speed. I would have quit if I had been thinking of it as 12 minutes straight, but breaking it down into minute increments and feeling a sense of accomplishment with every percentage I surpassed helped me finish.
- Be the CEO of yourself. You have to be mentally strong to make a choice: Are you creating a personal culture of fitness by always walking up the stairs and ordering the salad with dressing on the side during business travel, or are you making excuses?
- Use data to your advantage. As marketers, we love data. Why not use personal data to improve your health like you would improve marketing campaign results? I track workouts with my Apple watch. It reminds me how many times a week I get up at 5:30 a.m. and when I hit the snooze button. I can use apps to track progress or even have friendly competition with others.
When I stopped exercising consistently, my overall health suffered. That included reduced productivity at work and a loss of motivation in everything else. Since recommitting to fitness, I have seen a renewed focus in my work. I have a better understanding of how to work smarter, not longer, on projects. I have increased the output of my writing both professionally and personally, which has enhanced my creativity.
Instead of complacently accepting a wasted night on the couch watching mindless shows, I now take more walks with the family and trips to the park with my dog.
To paraphrase Josh Steimle, I’ve learned firsthand that excellence in one area of life promotes excellence in all other areas of it. Once I start missing workouts, it’s easy to stop altogether. If well-being is not your first priority, it will eventually negatively affect all of your other priorities, one seasoned french fry at a time.
Charlie Riley is a marketing, business development and communications professional with experience across multiple industries. Follow Charlie on Twitter at @charlieriley or connect on LinkedIn.
