Five tips on making every day count, by Richard Branson

https://www.virgin.com/richard-branson/five-tips-making-every-day-count

by hjkm • 8 years ago

56 38 8 years ago

You don’t have time for it, you make time for it

I think this applies to many things, not just for fitness. Our time is limited, depending on how much money you have and where you live you even spend more (or less) time in some things.

But in the end, there's some time that we choose on how to spend.

klausjensen2• 8 years ago

Pretty damn good advice.

With regards to exercise and breaks (two of the items in here), I think it is pretty much proven to be beneficial for productivity as well, but just to add my anecdotal success...:

I used to hit the gym at around 18-19 in the evening. I would often be tired and the gym would be crowded.

Then I switched to going around 13-14, breaking up my day. I found it gave me tremendous energy coming back from the gym to the office - and I would often have new ideas on how to solve, whatever I was working on.

So if you have this kind of freedom in planning your workday, I encourage you to try it out - exercise in the middle of the day.

jsonne2• 8 years ago

I actually did the same and it was life changing. Every day I would get tired and become unproductive at 2 or 3 in the afternoon regardless so I moved my gym time to there. I have more energy, I'm happier, I'm faster at the gym because it's empty. Highly recommended if you can make your schedule work with it.

dawhizkid2• 8 years ago

Often I have found lunch to be the culprit for feeling tired at 2-3. Once I limited my carb intake during lunch my afternoon slumps stopped.

ElatedOwl2• 8 years ago

Aside from the gym being less busy, it gives me something to look forward to every day. Being able to thoroughly decompress about halfway through my day has been a huge boost for me.

ryandrake2• 8 years ago

Assuming you’re employed, how do you go to the gym in the middle of the day? By the time you’ve commuted there, changed clothes, worked out, showered, dried off, changed again, and commuted back, you’re well over any lunch break time allotment I’ve ever seen.

ElatedOwl2• 8 years ago

For me personally, I get an hour unpaid lunch. I skip the shower. 4 days of the week I lift (one main lift with 2+ minute rest, 4-5 accessories with 1:30 rest) and one day I have enough time to run 3 miles (a little faster than a 9 minute mile).

On days I run I wash my face and put on a fresh pair of underwear/socks. Maybe I'm gross but I think the shower is honestly unnecessary.

klausjensen2• 8 years ago

I run my own business, and my gym is literally 5 minutes walk away from my office. I have a locker at the gym with a stock of clothes, so I don't have to pack a gym-bag every day (but more like once a week).

40acres• 8 years ago

I go in the morning. I had to reconfigure my day and make some sacrifices but it's worth it. I wake up at 4:00, work out for about 70 minutes and get to work by 7:00. Starting your day off with a workout is great if you can do it. It's the physical equivalent of making your bed in the morning.

akerro• 8 years ago

0. Have $5.1 billion so you can do all the above

tome4• 8 years ago

Is there any suggestion in the article that he didn't do all this stuff before he became wealthy?

mcguire4• 8 years ago

Would you have paid attention to his tips of he wasn't wealthy?

corpMaverick• 8 years ago

None of the tips require you to be wealthy. They are accessible at least for knowledge workers. i.e. Instead of sailing on the sea, you roller skate in the street.

vidarh3• 8 years ago

The irony of a comment like this on an article that only suggests things that are basically free.

He didn't suggest you jet off in your private plane for a quick refreshing week on your private island. He suggested you take breaks, start your day doing something you enjoy, exercise a bit, write down your goals, and work hard. I fail to see where money comes into it.

cryptoz2• 8 years ago

Money plays a big role in these. It's clear from each point, especially start your day with something fun. That is an incredibly hard thing to do for a lot of Americans, especially those who are poor. When you wake up poor for years and years on end, the ability to just "will yourself" into doing something "fun" in the morning to start your day, when all your mind can do is wonder if you'll have enough money for food later, or who will make fun of you on your commute, or any number of stresses, is nearly impossible.

Money plays a huge role in a person's ability to find a peace and calm moment in their day. And it doesn't help when some rich jerk walks in and says "what's the problem, too hard to wake up feeling happy and able to do something fun? ha, never had that problem! good day!". Ick.

Money plays a huge role in all of this. Yes, writing down your goals is basically free. Taking breaks isn't. Taking breaks can often include a risk of someone yelling at you, or you missing an important phone call that would have been really useful to get, etc.

Money is really important. Yeah, you don't need $5B to do this, but the point is that the advice is tone-deaf considering it comes from someone who does not have the common worries or problems of the common person.

Edit: The article is extra tone-deaf because it indeed does suggest you "jet off in your private plane for a quick refreshing week on your private island" like you quipped. The pictures he included in the article make it clear what his idea of a break is.

mcguire4• 8 years ago

Mindless platitudes are mindless platitudes even if they come from a billionaire.

panic• 8 years ago

To save you a click, here are the five tips:

5. Do something fun as you start your day

4. Just do it!

3. Set goals and challenge yourself (and write them down)

2. Have a break

1. Do some good

ryandrake2• 8 years ago

Yup, if advice were edible, this stuff is the empty calorie junk food. I’m surprised I didnt see “no pain no gain” in there too.

cloakandswagger• 8 years ago

This reads like a throwaway article from LiveStrong or eHow.

mcguire4• 8 years ago

From the article on failure yesterday:

"There are many different ways to think of failure, most of which seem designed to soften the sting of it. In Courage to Soar, Ms. Biles unpacks her own thoughts on the matter. This memoir, "written" by a 19 year-old and published three months into her explosive post-Olympic popularity, is a pretty blatant cash-grab. Still, the book's purpose, beyond racking up sales, seems to be to inspire younger readers, young girls in particular. But why do we look for advice from the most talented in society? What do they know of our struggles to rise up, dripping and stinking, from the swamp of mediocrity? Here, for example, is Ms. Biles describing how, after some initial struggles, she finally managed to nail a tricky skill – a release move on the uneven bars called a Tkatchev in which you let go of the bar on the upswing and fly backward, usually straddled, over the bar before catching it. "And then, just before practice ended, I said to myself, I'm going to do it this time. And you know what? I actually did!" Must be nice."

darepublic• 8 years ago

To literally follow in Branson's footsteps implement the tips thusly:

Kitesurf, Be confident, Jot notes on a notepad whilst flying first class Relax Cut a cheque to charity

Adamantcheese• 8 years ago

I don't think any of the tips actually go towards "making the day count" except for #4, and even then it's such generic and bland advice that it doesn't serve any purpose. This doesn't seem like it was written by Richard himself, it comes off as detached and some sort of appeal to make him seem relatable in this day and age. Especially considering the amount of pieces on "his" blog.

hjkm2• 8 years ago

This is slightly off topic, but I always thought that, if I were loaded, one thing I would do more of would be kitesurfing. Which makes me feel very lucky today (I am NOT loaded), as I already kitesurf.

Five tips on making every day count, by Richard Branson

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