Limiting wear and tear

After four and a half grueling years of college, a tumultuous few years in the working world, and now a few years running a business, I've seen what stress and everything associated with it can do to someone and it isn't pretty. It seems as if there's an innate pressure put on us that we must sacrifice our health and well being to be successful. While hard work and sacrifice are certainly necessary ingredients for success, I just don't buy the fact that you need to ruin your physical and mental well being to get there.

In college I saw people pull all nighters, cram for days without sleep, pump themselves full of caffeine, all because "it was what they needed to do". I was ranked at the top of my class and never sacrificed a night's sleep. I never once pulled an all nighter and did better than most of my classmates on every single test.

In the working world I saw people drink 10 cups of coffee every single day. They took what they did in college to the next level - they crammed to finish projects and in doing so sacrificed their health, happiness, and well being. I never fell into the trap, and always got everything done that I needed to get done.

However once I started working for myself I lost control a bit. No longer was a teacher or boss giving me projects. I was giving myself projects, ones that were harder and had shorter deadlines and greater rewards. I started doing the "all-out all the time" thing and worked every waking second. It was a mistake, and I'm glad I caught it when I did.

You don't need to look in the mirror at age 30 and look like you're age 50 from years of sleep deprivation, fast food, lack of exercise, and caffeine overload. There's a reason why people are so unhealthy and why diabetes is so prevalent in the US, and I'm telling you it doesn't have to happen to you...even if you want to be successful.

Business - and life - are marathons, not sprints, and should be treated as such. Among the things I do to ensure I minimize the stress and keep myself happy:

• Eat healthy, and eat regularly - it's simple, fill the kitchen with only good foods and you'll always eat healthy. Eat at least every 3-4 hours and you'll give your body the energy balance it needs to work at it's peak.
• Sleep as much as you need - I've always had problems getting into a sleep schedule. For me, my body varies in needs based on a variety of factors, and I just sleep until I feel rested. Some nights that's more than others. Some days I have to get up early so I make it up the next night. Conversely, some nights I want to stay out late so I sleep a little later. The important thing is that I don't walk around sleep deprived like I did at times in the past when I forced myself up at the same time each day.
• Exercise - it helps the body and mind so much. Whether you like to run or lift or play bball or whatever, just get out and exercise at least 3 times/week...no excuses. I would be much less healthy and much less happy if I didn't exercise.
• Plan - the reason I didn't pull an all nighter. If a test was a week out, I studied a little each night as opposed to cramming. You learn better that way, and you accomplish a lot more in a lot less time if you plan out whatever project you are working on and break it up into small sub-projects that can be accomplished leading up to the one big goal.
• Set goals each day - this ties into planning. Each day, I set my goals for the day. They tie into the bigger plan for the week and month, and if I hit my goals each day I know I'll hit the big goal. You'd be surprised - often times my goals take only 3-4 hours, and I end up spending the rest of the day not working. When I wake up the next day, I focus on those goals and try to do the same. Some days take longer than others, but the important thing is I'm moving forward each day and reaching for something attainable in the short term.
• Limit distractions - I'm the king of this, it's my best trait. When I'm focused, nothing can bother me. The TV is off, my email is closed, my phone goes un-answered, and I'm just "doing". I think in our generation (particularly with IM, text messages, and cell phones) it's almost impossible to just DO something without a distraction. This is SO easy to do in my mind, and it helps SO much. There's a time and place for emails and IM and phone calls, but when you're focused on a task just do it. Then spend the rest of your time having fun.
• Limit caffeine - caffeine is not necessarily unhealthy, and it can really help on those days when you need a pick-me-up, but if you *need* it you're in trouble. It messes with sleep patterns and does more bad than good. I monitor myself and make sure I don't drink a caffeinated drink more than two days in a row - never before 11 AM and never after 5 PM if I can help it. I don't want to need it to wake up, and I certainly don't want it inhibiting my sleep.
  

Nothing really ground breaking there. All obvious stuff, but if you make the effort to get all of it working in unison you become far more healthy and productive, and in turn you'll probably be a lot happier and live a lot longer.