Do you do that everyday?
When I tell people what I do everyday in my routine I often get odd looks. “You get up when?” is something I hear pretty often, along with “Do you do that everyday?”
People find my routine odd, or at least slightly out of the ordinary, I don’t but I guess that’s why it’s my routine.
So in the interest of science (what science I’m not sure, but I have an insatiable desire to understand and measure everything) I thought it would be good to put down on paper what I do, how I do it all and why I do it, just in case it might help someone out.
Get up & eat a good breakfast
Everyday I get up at 4:30am, drain a pint of water and then eat as soon as I can. I always avoid carbs like the plague at breakfast and stick to proteins and fats.
So what do I eat I hear you ask? Well, I generally have 3 large organic eggs scrambled with some veg on the side in the form of either Spinach or Mushrooms. But if I’m feeling adventurous (and rich) I’ll add in a bit of Salmon or Steak to really ramp up the protein.
Then comes the coffee.
I’m pretty serious when it comes to my coffee, something I felt I would never say. Yet after a work trip to America a couple of years back I got hooked. Big time. And now I can’t stop searching for that perfect espresso, and I’ll find it alright! You mark my words I’ll find it.
Freshly ground every morning in my spice grinder. I probably do need to upgrade at some point but for now this does a good job.
At breakfast I keep my coffee simple. I grind the beans whilst my veg and meat is cooking off and stick to 2 shots of espresso with either double cream or whole milk and a high grade coconut oil. Like I said, I stick to proteins and fats with my food so why should my coffee be any different?
That in-betweeny bit
After breakfast and coffee I have a bit of time to work on something. I’m usually finished with breakfast at around 5am, so I get dressed and settle down for an hour or so of writing. As I have mentioned before I have been working to improve my writing skills so I make sure I give myself time to work on this.
Some days I produce nothing, sometimes I produce a bit, but I’m always working towards improving my output and style, hopefully it’s paying off, I guess you could tell me.
Making time to read
Just after 6am I take a wonder to the bus stop at the end of my road. I do have a car and do drive to work every now and then when I need to, but mostly I take the bus. Why? Because it gives me time to read.
Note to self re-read this page! I love the Book Apart series, ‘Design is a Job‘ by Mike Monteiro is easily one of the most impactful books I have ever read.
I like to try and dedicate some time everyday to reading so using the bus for this time gives me around an hour a day (to work and back) to absorb a book.
I go through a few books a month on my Kindle on varying different subjects from training and coaching to design and management. I make sure I highlight key sentences and always go over them again at the end of the book so I remember as much as I can.
Or, I might just re-read Harry Potter again for the gazillionth time, you can never re-read Harry Potter too many times. I can still never get over how badass Snape turns out to be.
Work out
When I remember to get off the bus (I have missed my stop a few times due to reading) I take a stroll to the gym, get changed and warm up in time for a 6:45am start.
I’m pretty fortunate to live and work in a place such as Loughborough that is so passionate about sport. The University drives the standards of the local facilities up, and in turn the quality of the trainers that call these gyms their home.
Every Monday I work with my PT, Sam Roberts at Legacy Training and the rest of the week I use JIM in Loughborough to get a sweat on.
How do you like your JIM in the morning? I like mine completely empty.
I use a mixture of strength and explosive power exercises depending on the day for the major part of my session and then finish off with a bit of either strong man cardio in the form of the prowler or farmers walk, or a blast on the watt bike to get the heart rate going.
Work/Play
After the gym I head into the office. I get in around 8:15 – 8:30am depending on if I stop for (another) coffee or not, and then settle down to check my day on Google Calendar.
Once this is done I go through my emails and reply where is needed. Check the teams list on Basecamp (yes we are a team over at 5or6) so I know what we need to achieve that day and match that to the weekly, monthly and sometimes yearly goals depending on the projects and then get ready for everyone else to get in.
The office is the only time of the day where everything won’t follow a similar day to day pattern. Depending on the client, project requirements and stage of the job things can vary greatly. Plus the coffee rota can get a little feisty at some points. Ever seen someone sink up to 10 cups of a combination of tea or coffee in a day? No, well Pete makes it look as natural as breathing.
My super sweet set up in the office.
My evenings
I leave the office between 4:30 – 5:30pm everyday. Once I’m home from work depending on the day 1 of 2 things generally happens:
- I head to the Athletics track then relax and eat, or
- I just relax and eat.
Pretty simple.
My evenings are for spending time with Anna(my wife) chatting, cooking & reading, you know the drill, it’s just time to unwind and think about the day.
I head to bed at around 9:30pm just after organising my next day. I go through Basecamp and Google Calendar then pack my gym bag, get my supplements ready, pack my lunch and lie out my clothes ready for the next day.
Are there any exceptions?
Yep, at weekend’s I try to sleep as much as I can, which generally means I’m wide awake by 6:30am. I guess that’s the byproduct of a 4:30am start the rest of the week. Plus Anna and I try to get out and see people. This could mean taking a drive to stay with family, heading out with friends or going to see somewhere/something new.
I like my daily routine, I find it gives me focus and a chance to get everything done that I set out to achieve that day, and by giving myself set periods of time to get things done, do you know what? They get done, and I get better at doing them. Pretty sweet huh?