Do More by Doing Less
Finding the balance between doing too much and too little can be tough and I am definitely one of those people who pushes the boundaries of doing too much. This is applicable in the context of training and life in general. Now this is technically a "New Years" post, so I'll explore this topic both reflecting on 2017 and goal setting for 2018, but mostly 2018.
A quick look back at 2017 and the whirlwind that it was...
I have always played around with the limit of what I can take on, teetering on the edge of having absolutely no free time and going insane. I have a tendency to get bored with the same old routine and then try to take on new things so I continue feeling challenged. This YouTube video pretty much sums up what I am talking about by Casey Neistat (click here).
2017 was no different and there were times where I teetered a little too far into the domain of taking on too much and too little. I spent some time trying to get rid of part of my personality, but I quickly realized I cannot do this because it is a fundamental part of who I am as a person. It gives me the drive to always move forward, innovate, and work hard. If there is anything that I learned in 2017 it is that I cannot surrender this part of my personality, instead I should embrace it, use it to my advantage, and just be observant when I need to take time for myself to reset or focus on certain parts of my life over others. 2017 started out as the most difficult semester of my graduate school career (so far) and it reached a point where I contemplated quitting everything I was doing, both academically and athletically. In fact, I nearly dropped the ball on everything I was doing besides grad school for awhile. After some time off to let my academic load calm down, and with a little help from some old and new friends, I realized how much I missed triathlon. I started to get back into it and quickly put together a late season race schedule. My confidence started to grow and so did my aspirations to do more. While 2017 started out pretty shitty, I ended the year joining a new triathlon team, working enough to be on track to graduate a year earlier than anticipated, starting a new company, and looking into a few job opportunities after I graduate (fingers crossed that happens on time). The fact of the matter is that all this would not be possible if I had not embraced my tendency to do more, but at the same time I have learned to do less and this is what I want to continue to do in 2018.
Looking forward into 2018
I have some pretty big aspirations for 2018 that include, but are not limited to, graduating with my PhD (finally) and completing my first full distance Ironman. What makes these aspirations different than those of 2017 is that I plan to approach them a little smarter... I plan to do more by doing less. Do more by doing less does not limit my aspirations, in fact it makes them more achievable with less stress; it means prioritizing some things over others and more importantly it means that if I am not doing something, it does not mean that I am quitting. This last concept was hard for me to embrace at first. For example, in 2017 I completed my 200hr RYT yoga teacher training. I felt that if I was not teaching regularly, I would lose the skill or I was quitting teaching all together. The fact of the mater is that I do enjoy teaching and want to continue doing so, but I cannot teach as much as I did in 2017 to accomplish my goals in 2018. Instead, I hope to tailor my teaching efforts more toward specialized classes 1-2 times a month, such as Yoga for Runners workshops. The fact of the matter is I have wanted to do this for awhile, but finally think I have the skills as a teacher to do so. Another example is not planning to do my first full Ironman the same month I am defending my PhD... While I initially had planned to race IM Mont-Tremblanc in August, I now plan to race either IM Louisville or Maryland in October to focus on my defense in August. I am crazy, but not crazy enough to write/defend my thesis and race my first full in the same month.
Doing more by doing less also applies to my training. I often think that if I am not pushing myself enough during all my training sessions it is a waste of time. I want to better differentiate between going easy and going hard. This means less "easy" trainer rides at 250W and more rides at 200W. Now these medium intensity workouts do have a benefit in building an aerobic base, but I want to take more time to effectively recover.
Perhaps what I am most looking forward to in 2018 is racing with a team. Since I joined this sport, I have gone it solo. Finally in 2018 I am excited to announce that I will be racing as an elite member of Team Wattie Ink. Just the past month of interacting with all my new teammates on social media has motivated me to aspire for more and I look forward to meeting everyone in person during our camp in April. In addition, it is great to have the support of some amazing sponsors that I will all link below. Between the new team and some amazing training partners I have found in Greg Grosicki, Corey Robinson, and Mike Hoffman, I know that 2018 will be one of my most existing years of life. So it is time to start doing more by doing less.
2018 Sponsors:
Wattie Ink
Herbalife 24
Hoka One One
Blueseventy
Pioneer Electronics
Knight Composites
Eternal Water
ISM
Speedfill
Zealios
Stryd
SLF Motion
Race Day Wheels
A quick look back at 2017 and the whirlwind that it was...
I have always played around with the limit of what I can take on, teetering on the edge of having absolutely no free time and going insane. I have a tendency to get bored with the same old routine and then try to take on new things so I continue feeling challenged. This YouTube video pretty much sums up what I am talking about by Casey Neistat (click here).
2017 was no different and there were times where I teetered a little too far into the domain of taking on too much and too little. I spent some time trying to get rid of part of my personality, but I quickly realized I cannot do this because it is a fundamental part of who I am as a person. It gives me the drive to always move forward, innovate, and work hard. If there is anything that I learned in 2017 it is that I cannot surrender this part of my personality, instead I should embrace it, use it to my advantage, and just be observant when I need to take time for myself to reset or focus on certain parts of my life over others. 2017 started out as the most difficult semester of my graduate school career (so far) and it reached a point where I contemplated quitting everything I was doing, both academically and athletically. In fact, I nearly dropped the ball on everything I was doing besides grad school for awhile. After some time off to let my academic load calm down, and with a little help from some old and new friends, I realized how much I missed triathlon. I started to get back into it and quickly put together a late season race schedule. My confidence started to grow and so did my aspirations to do more. While 2017 started out pretty shitty, I ended the year joining a new triathlon team, working enough to be on track to graduate a year earlier than anticipated, starting a new company, and looking into a few job opportunities after I graduate (fingers crossed that happens on time). The fact of the matter is that all this would not be possible if I had not embraced my tendency to do more, but at the same time I have learned to do less and this is what I want to continue to do in 2018.
Looking forward into 2018
I have some pretty big aspirations for 2018 that include, but are not limited to, graduating with my PhD (finally) and completing my first full distance Ironman. What makes these aspirations different than those of 2017 is that I plan to approach them a little smarter... I plan to do more by doing less. Do more by doing less does not limit my aspirations, in fact it makes them more achievable with less stress; it means prioritizing some things over others and more importantly it means that if I am not doing something, it does not mean that I am quitting. This last concept was hard for me to embrace at first. For example, in 2017 I completed my 200hr RYT yoga teacher training. I felt that if I was not teaching regularly, I would lose the skill or I was quitting teaching all together. The fact of the mater is that I do enjoy teaching and want to continue doing so, but I cannot teach as much as I did in 2017 to accomplish my goals in 2018. Instead, I hope to tailor my teaching efforts more toward specialized classes 1-2 times a month, such as Yoga for Runners workshops. The fact of the matter is I have wanted to do this for awhile, but finally think I have the skills as a teacher to do so. Another example is not planning to do my first full Ironman the same month I am defending my PhD... While I initially had planned to race IM Mont-Tremblanc in August, I now plan to race either IM Louisville or Maryland in October to focus on my defense in August. I am crazy, but not crazy enough to write/defend my thesis and race my first full in the same month.
Doing more by doing less also applies to my training. I often think that if I am not pushing myself enough during all my training sessions it is a waste of time. I want to better differentiate between going easy and going hard. This means less "easy" trainer rides at 250W and more rides at 200W. Now these medium intensity workouts do have a benefit in building an aerobic base, but I want to take more time to effectively recover.
Perhaps what I am most looking forward to in 2018 is racing with a team. Since I joined this sport, I have gone it solo. Finally in 2018 I am excited to announce that I will be racing as an elite member of Team Wattie Ink. Just the past month of interacting with all my new teammates on social media has motivated me to aspire for more and I look forward to meeting everyone in person during our camp in April. In addition, it is great to have the support of some amazing sponsors that I will all link below. Between the new team and some amazing training partners I have found in Greg Grosicki, Corey Robinson, and Mike Hoffman, I know that 2018 will be one of my most existing years of life. So it is time to start doing more by doing less.
2018 Sponsors:
Wattie Ink
Herbalife 24
Hoka One One
Blueseventy
Pioneer Electronics
Knight Composites
Eternal Water
ISM
Speedfill
Zealios
Stryd
SLF Motion
Race Day Wheels
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