Tag Archives: physical exercise

Do it less than perfectly

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As per my last post, it’s a liberation for me to think of the phrase ‘Do it less than perfectly’. When you want to do something perfectly, you put it off because it’ll take so much time.

Another great insight offered in the book Overcoming Perfectionism by Roz Shafran, Sarah Egan and Tracey Wade is the belief of perfectionists that one must spend a lot of time on tasks. They invite perfectionists to do an experiment, spending less time on tasks and they confidently predict that one learns that the outcome is pretty much the same without having to spend forever on a task. And, if we reduce the amount of time we spend doing stuff trying to get it perfect, we’ll have time to live a more balanced lifestyle, taking time for leisure, family, physical exercise, work, sleep etc.

Finally, I love their insight that ‘thorough’ is often the enemy of the good when it comes to perfectionists because we who have this fault waste so much time and energy and end up unable to see the wood for the trees.

Weight

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Weight is a funny old thing. I think I heard somewhere that aircraft don’t so much go from A to B, say from New York to Dublin, in a straight line. Instead, it seems they zig-zag their way across the Atlantic. They veer off a bit, take new coordinates, then refocus, adjusting direction, zig-zagging to their destination. Body weight is a bit like that. We put on a few pounds, realise it; then cut down a bit, shed a few pounds, achieve a healthy weight, then put some more on again.

Here are some tips if you need to shed a few pounds: for a two week period, eliminate biscuits, cakes, and chocolate and instead snack on fruit. Cut out the booze for the fortnight too. It’ll give your liver a break. Reduce your dairy intake to a minimum, so bye bye to cheese, milk drinks, full-fat yogurts, etc. Talk to your pharmacist about taking a calcium supplement while you’re off dairy stuff. And do at least 20 minutes physical exercise a day. Nothing very radical there but if you do it, essentially cutting out bad fats (biscuits, cakes etc.) and reducing dairy (cheese, milk etc.), you’ll lose two or three pounds. What’s more, if you keep it up, such as if you’re very overweight, in time you’ll shed excess weight and you’ll do it in a sustainable way. If you’re self-disciplined enough you can reintroduce a small amount of chocolate and a glass of wine. All the above is good for your health, your wealth and the environment – not a bad hat trick!

Finally a simple detox like the above can invigorate you. I did it for three weeks in January and I was full of energy. I’ve been a bit self-indulgent since then and could do with doing it again for a fortnight. The old zig-zag!

Toil

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Every so often work demands can converge, ushering in a period of toil. That’s OK, so long as it is not for an extended period. Think of the prime ministers of Ireland and Britain working through two successive nights trying to prevent the collapse of the Northern Ireland Executive in the last few days. Think of certain times of the year or month when one’s work demands converge making sleep and eating seem like a luxury. Work is good. Toil isn’t necessarily bad so long as it isn’t constant. Make sure to balance periods of too much work with times for relaxation, serenity, relationships, physical exercise and time out just for you. Decide, in the middle of toil, when you will do these healthy things. Use them as a reward to look forward to after any toil. And if you’re tempted to ignore such balanced activities, necessary for the body, mind and psyche, consider all the dead in a cemetery near you; all those who felt they were an essential cog in the machine!

Plan your day

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Plan your day. Take a sheet of paper. Divide it into half-hourly segments. I write the time segments down the middle of the page. From your diary and/or weekly plan, on the left of your page, write down the most important things you want to achieve today. Then, to the right of the half-hourly segments write down when you will do what. Remember to build in healthy things too: time for breaks, meals, physical exercise, family responsibilities, relaxation. Like the pilot of a plane or captain of a ship, you now have your chart for the day. Sometimes you won’t be able to keep to it. Stuff happens. But you have your plan. Without it, how can you get anywhere?