I found these 7 steps to help you with the work-life balance today in my RSS reader – thanks Leo.

Something I talk about a lot is work – life balance. I find myself explaining quite a bit to people that I find I do live a balanced life. Yes, being busy does not mean you are not balanced. My 9pm phone off curfew gets confused at times but really, after 9pm I have no time for phonecalls, personal issues and trivial discussion with anybody. I give myself 60 minutes to calm down after a busy day (every day is a busy day for me) and this is my come down period for the day. I am asleep within 5 minutes of my head hitting the pillow, without fail. I attribute this largely to this window period of calm.

Back to the focus on work though, these are 7 points we could all use and I have written them down and placed them on my desk to remind me to practice practice practice.

1. Set a time to shut off work. Working all day and night means you are nothing but your job. Your life belongs to your employer (or if you’re the employer then your life belongs to your employees or customers). Take ownership of your life — find variety and ways to burn off stress and find enjoyment in life! Start by setting a time each day when you shut off work. Whether that’s 5 p.m. or 5:30 or 6 or 7 or 9 p.m. Some of you can set it even earlier if you start earlier — say 4 p.m. or something like that. Set that time and make it happen. After that shut-off time you will not do work or check email or think about work.

2. Find something to immerse yourself in after work. What do you love doing besides work? Do you love to read or run or play sports or hang out with friends or play with your kids or build model ships or play games? If you don’t already have a passion then pick something that sounds fun and give it a try. It doesn’t have to be expensive — it could be as simple as hiking around your neighborhood or volunteering at a charity or helping friends with household projects. Schedule it as soon after work as possible. And while you’re doing it try to completely immerse yourself. Don’t think about work — only think about the after-work activity.

3. Learn to be mindful and present. It’s not easy to just switch your mind off work but it’s a skill you can learn over time. The way to learn this isn’t to try to block work from your mind — it’s to learn to bring your mind back to whatever you’re doing after work. It doesn’t matter what you’re doing: it could be household chores or exercise or talking with someone or taking a bath or eating. Whatever it is … that’s all you want to focus on. Your mind will inevitably slip into something else. That’s OK. Bring it back gently and without reprimand. Slowly with practice you will get better at being present. Which means your work won’t always be on your mind.

4. Take breaks at work. Not everyone will have this flexibility but it’s worth doing if you can manage it. Basically if you’re working for 8 or 10 hours you don’t want to do it non-stop. You need to find balance even at work. So at least once an hour get up and walk around. Get outside if you can and take a walk. Stretch and massage your shoulders and get your blood moving. Do some squats or pushups if you want to start getting fit. Talk to someone. Drink water. Eat fruits and vegetables. Your break just needs to be 5-10 minutes but it’s important.

5. Increase your skills while at work — to prepare for leaving work. If you are very skilled at what you do then you become worth more. In fact it’s often possible to quit your job and start your own business if you’re good enough. And it doesn’t take a lot of money to work for yourself — you can start a business with practically no money. I started mine while still working full time: my job funded my startup business. Even if you don’t go into business for yourself you’ll be worth more with a high skill level. So devote your work hours to learning and perfecting your work skills.

6. Find ways to increase your income while decreasing hours. As your skills increase your value increases. Slowly pick jobs or projects that earn more money per hour. This often means changing jobs but it might be a promotion or change in roles. It could mean starting your own business or becoming a consultant. If you already have your own business or work for yourself then you should slowly be picking jobs or business projects that pay more for every hour you spend working on them. By increasing income you can decrease hours and free up more time for yourself.

7. Learn that you are not defined by work. You can be happy without your job. Your value isn’t completely tied to your work. For example: I’m a writer but it’s not the only thing I am. I’m also a father and husband and know that those are my most important roles — not my role as a writer. I am more than that as well: I run and read and learn and help others and am constantly experimenting with life. I can do things other than my job and be fulfilled. So can you. And once you discover this you’ll free yourself to find a life outside of work. Then balance is simply a matter of logistics — you just need to make it happen by taking small steps.

Small steps is always the answer. You don’t need to be perfect at shutting off work or being present or pouring yourself into something after work. You just need to start doing it and in doing so you’ve already started down the road to balance.

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Today I am leaving our wonderful accommodation in Kona for this place:

I am racing this weekend, just two weeks after Ironman Hawaii. A whole new experience, this training immediately after an Ironman. Will I do it again – hell yes. I feel way better than I ever have, two weeks after any previous Ironman. A combination of better preparation and better conditioning, sure, but also nice to have stayed active and kept moving. Exercise has been very light with only a few runs and lots of short bikes and swims. Feels pretty good.

Will upload some more Garmin stuff after the race, so you can see how that went. I am going to go all in with the Forerunner on Sunday, covering all 3 disciplines. It’s going to be very important to watch my top end heart rate as I would imagine I am going to have very little speed but a very solid sub maximal effort in me, so its going to be all about those last 5km on the run where I am either going to lose or gain 5minutes, which is podium in age group.

THBK Jnr did quite a cool interview for Xterra TV and you can catch that by clicking here…

Also, have a read at this, It’s what i`m going to be reading on the airplane to Maui. I need a break from my current book which I am slightly obsessed with. Thankfully its 1200 pages so lots to be obsessed about and much going on there, but a break is needed today.

Here is a great preview on the weekends race too…

I have new tires, new chainrings, new (well, have run in them to wear them in) shoes, new clothing, gear and all the energy inducing nutrition a dude could dream of. I am ready, set and hopefully, will save enough for the Spooky Forest and the last few hills home.

Have a great weekend out there…

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Why do athletes of all disciplines and all abilities get up before the sun rises to hone their skills? Because their better, is better than your better. Full stop.

Had some hectic discussions with my legs this morning. I am almost midweek into the biggest week of training for me, leading into Ironman World Champs in October. 5 weeks to go, perfect time to ramp the mileage something stupid on the bike, just for a week. Throw yourself into the deep end and come out a little leaner, a little harder and alot more tired. For the guys and girls who want to know what this involves, its 5 hours a day, every day in the week, backed by 2 x 7 hour days over the weekend. Yes, that’s a 37 hour week, which is double my average week. Because I have a full work week too, I am training 2 bike rides a day to make it possible in the week. To further make sure you understand, the overload week has ZERO intensity over AeT across all sports, has an updated eating, sleeping and recovery schedule as well as more packing of bags and washing of gear than you could possibly fathom.

I don’t advocate you do the same thing, in these volumes, but it is interesting to note that this would be a fairly typical week for a pro Ironman athlete. By the end of the week, I will be near impossible to communicate with, eating more food in a day than you would have eaten this week and still, somehow, be able to put together a 6 hour ride on Sunday. It’s taken me years to get to this point, so don’t just go out there and do it.

That mild hummmmmm that sets in when true fatigue gets going, that is starting. It’s been there all morning. Faintly. By weekend it will be there permanently, loud enough to feel like I am plugged into a mild electrical circuit. Ah, the joys of camp.

So the questions arose, about 3/4 way into the ride this morning, when I was hungry and was about halfway up the last hill of the day.

Rewind a little, I have to admit that the 90minutes I rode in the dark this morning were blissfully amazing, quiet and fun to bomb down descents at 60km/h in the dark with one light leading the way. At one point I sat up, hands off the handlebars and up into the sky and let out a scream of pure awesomeness. Ok, back to the ride, and THAT question.

“Your training has been great, why are you pushing so hard this week?”

That was the one that brought me back to a video I had seen, which is the video above. Why was I out there? Because my current better is far better than my previous better used to be, to start. I see the exact same traits in the people around me, most noticeably lately, in The Housemate. The dude has been living this video lately. Hats off to pushing the limits to whats possible, personally. He seems to be able to shatter himself and put the pieces back together into a picture slightly better than it looked previously, repeatedly, at the moment.

When people ask you the question of “why” I believe this is possibly the perfect answer. Here are some more people who will tell you that their better, is better than your better.

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‘A few strong instincts and a few plain rules suffice us.’ ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Post written by Leo Babauta. Follow me on twitter or identica.

Life can be ridiculously complicated, if you let it. I suggest we simplify.

Thich Nhat Hanh’s quote, which I’ve stolen as this site’s subtitle, is the shortest guide to life you’ll ever need:

“Smile, breath, and go slowly.”

If you live your life by those five words, you’ll do pretty well. For those who need a little more guidance, I’ve distilled the lessons I’ve learned (so far) into a few guidelines, or reminders, really.

And as always, these rules are meant to be broken. Life wouldn’t be any fun if they weren’t.

the brief guide

less TV, more reading
less shopping, more outdoors
less clutter, more space
less rush, more slowness
less consuming, more creating
less junk, more real food
less busywork, more impact
less driving, more walking
less noise, more solitude
less focus on the future, more on the present
less work, more play
less worry, more smiles
breathe

Such a beautiful way to begin the week, I had to share. The article was originally published here.

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I am happy to confess it to you. I am happy to tell you that I am far from normal, that the normal limits of mankind don’t apply to me. That society deems me a freak.

Come here, I`ll tell it to you calmly, quietly, without prejudice. I`m happy to sit and listen to you tell me why I am mad to be trying to balance a full work day with my crazy sports obsession. I`ll sit and listen, without judgement. I realize you can’t fathom the compromise, the level of effort it takes to live the life I choose to live, every single day. I realize all you see is the training and the work and the limited time. I see that you see I am tired, that I look “ill” to you, too skinny by societies terms and conditions.

What you don’t see is the real effort. The packing of 2 bags a day, the effort it takes to shower 3 times a day depending if I am squeezing in a lunch session too. The compromise it takes when I want to go out partying with mates, because I LOVE the dancing, singing and laughing and bromance that they offer, but when I am simply too tired to be a part of whats going on there. The compromise it takes to stay true to a dream, a goal. I know you don’t see me when I`m sitting, 140km into a 180km ride, tired and weary, with 40km of hills and block headwind to get home. You cannot see the doubt in my mind right then, the fight in my head and body to keep going, despite the surrounding circumstance. All you see is “crazy boy spent the day on his bike again”.

You really can’t see that I`m training my mind as much as my body? Really? Interesting…

I full realize that you and most of the people I am surrounded by look at me with caution because they don’t understand my motivations. I know those of you who watch these videos and get goosebumps, wanting to be out there, on that course, that you share that burning desire. I salute you. In fact I am standing on the highest perch with a banner and a microphone for you, protesting the limits of society for you, with you, through you. I know you don’t expect everybody to understand you, but that you feel like an island some days. That the island gets lonely.

I get that. Just remember that life is NOT about finding yourself out there, in the open road. It’s about CREATING yourself out there, in the open road. That you are building the foundations for making amazingly good decisions by pushing the limits. The limits are beautiful. Just when you smash through one, it goes just a bit further again. The limits will challenge you forever. That is their essential beauty and truth.

Still not understanding what I am saying? Have a watch at this, tell me it doesn’t grip you in the heart and wake something in you. For me, I get so emotional when I watch this that I am ready to run out the door and onto the mountain, disappearing for a few hours where I set the trail and there is no route. Where all bets are off on whether I hit a limit out there or not.

It makes me want to go find that beautiful moment where I have to stop and ask myself serious questions about WTF I am doing out here in this state with so far left to go. Give me those moments. They make me laugh at myself. Yes, I am mad.

What am I doing?

This is my language. I know you might not understand it. I realize the crazyness of it all. I know it’s a little obsessive. I am fully aware of how intense it is. I am 100% coherent on the fact that I do it 100% for myself, however. I really can’t complain, all is Kosher around these parts. Thank goodness it`s far from over. Really there are too many great roads, trails and open stretches of water left to explore, too much great food to experience and far too many amazing wines I have never sampled.

I may not always be so driven to obsess about sport. I may switch it to exploration at some point, but I guarantee you I will explore by bike, foot and human power. I`ll be climbing the mountain, not catching the cable car to the top. I am too addicted to the way the body feels when it moves. How good it feels to walk, run, ride, climb, dance, jump, boogie, bounce, paddle and in the middle of all that, with all the senses going bazongkers, standing perfectly still with my eyes closed, arms wide spread, being amazed at how everything tingles with absolute excitement at doing what it’s supposed to do, when the mind and body are 100% stimulated through a full body sensory experience.

Don’t tell me I am mad.

I am well aware of the fact.

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Have it load and watch a great man do what he does best. Keep rollin.

It would be a waste to comment on the video, I purely want you to watch it.

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I have loads of questions at the moment, many pertaining to society and why we do the things we do, what sense most of them make and truly, the real meaning of why we are here. It’s a great space to be in, contrary to what many would think. I will put it out there that its due to the training and work stresses I am under at the moment, the fatigue that comes with it and the absolute pure humanness of myself. I am imperfect in every perfect way. That is the way I like to see it. I strive for a balanced life, at times this means 7 hour bike rides and at other times it means I wanted to come home at 10pm but the wine and company were so good that I snuck in after midnight with a smile on my dial and a slight added tiredness in the morning. This is how I choose it.

It’s been a great week for great questions.

What am I doing long term with my life?

How am I going to create a legacy for my kids to aspire to?

How on earth am I going to run the next 20min at VO2 Threshold when I am bobbing and weaving across the road already like a ragdoll in a bullmastiffs mouth?

Who has the coffee?

What is up with the dating game?

Why, if in the first video, are all the guys Lance dropped, either back from a doping suspension or retired because of doping? With all the current accusations there are lots of questions regarding sport and the legitimacy of certain performances in certain sports. It does sadden me a little and I hope that it amounts to nothing so that my full faith can be restored into what is a special sport to me.

How am I going to execute certain scenarios in Kona?

When am I going to see my entire family together again?

Questions are important. I would hate to think I would ever know everything, this I have said before and I will always stand by it. Without asking questions we can’t get the freedom of the answer. Take a step back though and you have to be prepared to ask the question. Another step back and you have to be prepared for the right answer, which isnt the answer you might want, or the answer which leaves you with a improved self image. Courage is a key part in asking questions. Most people will only ask questions they know the answers to or the questions with safe answers.

Even then its not always that clear. Take a guy like Allen Lim, who stood by Floyd Landis, based on the numbers he put out on the day he essentially won the Tour de France. According to the facts, the numbers and the data, it was not a superhuman ride. The facts made perfect sense. Core temperature control, watts control and there you go. Simple, not easy, right? Not so in the current debacle with Landis. Allen Lim is one of the most obsessive, smart, calculating people on the planet and even he cannot answer all the questions, like:

Why come out now Floyd?

If the numbers were all normal, why risk everything if Floyd knew, still took the chance that he might get caught?

What am I doing in this sport if no matter how much sense it makes, some doos is still going to cheat?

I cannot imagine all the questions a guy like him asks himself all the time. They have to think of everything, as pioneers to a cleaner sport, three times as much as the guys who are just gaaning aan like there was no repercussion.

So whilst the never ending stream of questions resounds so loudly in my head, there is hope for me this extended weekend in the form of a mini-camp. 3 days of what it seems is going to be bad weather, long miles and lots of wet cycling gear. When out there, many questions are asked as well, especially on the harder weather days:

What the hell are you doing?

Where is the coffee?

What the hell are you doing?

Where is the food?

Ok, come to think of it, its all about coffee, food and why I am out there pushing the limits. Maybe that is exactly why I am out there?

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I had lunch today with a particularly gifted guy. Not only is he an unbelievable mountain biker, but he can write far better than this guy. He is adventurous, wild and very calculating. But the fact that I like most about him, is that he gets it. Plain & simple.

“It” is course, can be summed up for me as follows:

1. Sport for us is a lifestyle. It’s an essential part of our lives.
2. It will never be our profession.
3. We love pushing our bodies as far as possible to see how much we can cope with.
4. There has to be adventure involved. Without adventure, men starve.
5. We LOVE it.

For him it’s about being out there, pushing the limits, often with his brother, in situations which make him a better guy. Admirable that he is willing to put himself into the dark bucket of “How am I going to get out of here” but smart in that he surrounds himself with people he really trusts to be in that situation with. It’s not about one thing, but about participation, being in the mix with the dudes, the guys, the manne and he knows it never gets easier as you get faster, even though he is really really fast.

We were chatting about where we want our sports experiences to go and there was a mutual agreement that it’s the participation, the masses and especially the back markers that inspire us more than the front guys. We have both successfully and through many years of hard work come from the back to the front of races. When I started at the back of triathlons, the front guys were everything I wanted to be. As I am nearing the front, I have to say that the inverse has happened. I have various reasons for this.

1. The gains are smaller and require MUCH more work.
2. There is very little gear left that I don’t have, that doesn’t cost more than my car.
3. To get better, I have to be far more organized, planned, rigorous and meticulous about so many more things. At times, it is exhausting.

I am a true believer in the inspiration of the first timer, the twice a week runner who commits to running their first half marathon and the guy who cant swim more than 50m who enters a half ironman race, throwing caution to the wind and slamming their fists against the table and saying “I WILL DO THIS”. Those are my heroes.

The blogosphere has created this world where there are thousands of pages, no, that would be millions of pages of people who write to boost their own ego’s. Twitter, for me, is about 90% self massage of the ego. I am completely over Facebook at this point as I am tired of seeing how “happy” everyone proclaims to be, but when I see the same people in person their lives are falling apart. Rather be open and honest and contribute something beyond the blob, as I am coining it. Write something beyond a cheesy quote or telling the world (lying) about how fabulous everything is. Share a useful link that inspired you. Suggest an action which contributes.

Beyond the blob relates to all our lives. This crazy ego massage where we are seeking the approval of others by spreading a message that is not necessarily true is the shortest empty cul de sac I can think of. Surely that is the short term outlook on a long term problem? I could totally be missing my seat here but there is something truly healing about humbly sharing something that was given to you today, onwards, with the rest of the world.

For the rest of the week, move beyond the blob. Use your Facebook and Twitter accounts, your emails and sms’s, blackberry messenger and skype platforms to share information which made a change in your week. Don’t be the guy who gives a blind man a set of binoculars, be the guy who gives the blind man a guide dog, something that could change someone’s life forever. It could totally happen to you, if you just take the chance to share.

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That is how you finish the biggest mountain in the Tour. Right?

I have been excited lately to do things right, and I mean really giving it everything. I am going into a block of time where not giving everything is just not going to cut it. Big races, big work projects and exciting prospects loom ahead in the next 12 weeks, so I am finding the following and hoped you could use one or two things to help you too.

1. I am having to think slowly. TheHousemate always says “less haste, more speed” and this rings super true for me, especially as I get busier. I have to take extra time to write emails, proposals, respond to questions, plan my day ahead (sometimes involves packing 2 sports bags and pre-making lunch and and and…). Taking the extra few seconds or minutes to do things slowly, think about the things slowly can often result in hours saved.

2. New sensations. The harder I train, the more fragile I get & the more regular sleep and simple food I need. I am more prone to stomach bugs, sinus infections, flat out fatigue and the one which hits me the hardest is my tolerance for alcohol. I generally have a very good tolerance. I find that after a certain volume of hours training, I just can’t do more than 2 glasses of wine. Overz kadoverz. The same goes with sugar and all stimulants. Where I would hardly feel a red bull, where I am now training wise, it knocks me for 6.

3. Peace. I am very chill at the moment. Things are on track and I keep hearing comments about looking peaceful. Planning and execution of that plan correctly is clearly good for the soul. Sleeping regularly and eating real food will make all the difference. People will see it.

4. Mood awareness. I am someone who does not do the combination of hungry and tired very well. I am very calm in general but combine the two and I might rip the arms off a small child if it asks that question again. Being busy often leaves me tired, often hungry and quite often, both. This is just how it is. I have to be very aware of my mood and how I react in the office or to email when you add in that it might be Monday and I have trained 12 hours over the weekend.

Hopefully something in there that you can use this week.

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…

Such a simple thing. Could be a pause to ponder or an eternity of waiting in those 3 little dots.

From Wikipedia: “An ellipsis can also be used to indicate a pause in speech, an unfinished thought, or, at the end of a sentence, a trailing off into silence.”

If that description doesn’t inspire thoughts of beauty in you, you might not be a minimalist at heart or even at attempt. For me, ellipsis is the core of a lot of what I write. I use it more than I use a lot of more pertinent marks. I find it beautiful and insightful and the pause, for me, is the simplest way to evoke.

A pause in speech is silence. Silence is one of the most profound ways to connect with your inner voice, with nature. Silence is the best part of speech. It’s the best part of me, silence. I can ride my bicycle in the forests for 5 or 6 hours without saying a word. My closest friends will attest that I can drive for hours in the car with them without saying a word. Simple comfort in silence is the highest respect I can pay you as a person.

An unfinished thought is any thought, really — if a thought is “finished” it’s dead. We are all of us in transition, all the time, and our thoughts can be no exception. Constant transition. How beautiful.

Trailing off into silence implies that there is much left unsaid … that what is said is only the start. Once we realise we are in constant transition, every end is merely the start and every start is the end. The simple realisation that we never stop evolving is uber powerful.

Intentional omission is the foundation of minimalism: we leave things out because they are unnecessary, and retain only what we need or use or love. Omitting the unnecessary is a thing of pure beauty. Constant reassurance from things which are unnecessary is deemed “consumer” in my mind. Move from being consumer to being provider. Try it out sometime…

…

Say less, and hear more.
Do less, and have a greater impact.
Make less noise, and appreciate the silence.
Send out fewer emails, and make each one count.
Tweet less, and each one becomes more meaningful.
Have fewer possessions, and enjoy the space.
Have fewer “friends”, but make each relationship stronger.
Appreciate the spaces between everything.

…

Ed’s note: I have quoted the last 8 lines directly from another post, they are quite profound.

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