It was a good day for a lot of reasons, but one of the best was I was able to maintain a decent intensity with my MMA workout with Trisha Cicero (professional MMA fighter). It does seem that the stretching regimen is paying off a bit, my roundhouse kick is hitting about shoulder level. I have it marked on the heavy bag. At one time they were face level, but I haven’t really worked at this for a very long time. We will see if I can get them higher. My nemesis former UFC champ Arlovsky is 6’3″ so I have to get them higher.
I’m continuing my experiment with eating pudding when I take Resveratrol since Dr. Sinclair takes yogurt with his. Obviously, I don’t feel any differently, but I think it is reasonable given the notion that Resveratrol dissolves better in fat. I’m researching this though, and something like eggnog (which I like) would have more fat with the same calories. Not sure I can get it outside of the Christmas season though.
Support systems (cont.)
Just to continue the line of thought from yesterday, life will be better if you can develop a “support system” to help you run your life. As mentioned yesterday, it will help you remove a lot of the clutter from your life, be less stressed and more productive.
To illustrate: Did you know that if you disturb a computer programmer in his work even for a minute it takes 45 minutes to an hour for him to make up for it? That is because he has to mentally sink into his work and regain focus on all of the intricate parts of what he is doing.
It is the same to some degree with you and your activities that you dread and are not expert in. Want to focus on balancing your checkbook? How about taking your clothes to the cleaners when you don’t know a good one? Anytime you have a task that you do not want to do, that takes some time, focus and energy that you don’t want to give, you create an underlying stress. And these can build up.
If you are an experienced mom, you already know what support systems are about. You may have an agreement with other parents on transportation of the kids to school, you have a routine for providing food, getting laundry done and have probably found ingenious ways to save time and still have a life.
For those of you, (including moms) who are interested in formalizing this a bit, here are a few suggestions that might fit into your life. Much of this costs a bit of money, so be creative.
A Good Masseuse – As I mentioned in the Foot Massage article a few days ago you may have to shop around and try a few masseuses before you find one you really like (and the shopping part is good too). But once you find someone who does a good job of relaxing you, put them on autodial and use them liberally.
Financial Advisor – As mentioned yesterday, even if you are already financially savvy you need someone to help you keep on track with your financial goals. This person could be your accountant but there are folks who specialize in financial advice. It helps if someone can provide you with a “snapshot” of your financial status, so you don’t have to do a lot of figuring. Spend 5 minutes a week on it, not 2 hours once a month. And don’t just plan for retirement (remember this is an anti-aging website, so you are NOT GOING TO RETIRE). Plan on building wealth, and occasionally taking a great vacation.
House Cleaning – Some people love to clean their house, it is a Zen-like time that clears the mind. Other’s clean their house subconsciously. Still others, like me, have a high tolerance for clutter. But if you are none of these and are uncomfortable with the state your house is in, find a cleaning service. Let them come in once per month. Yes, you will have to let them into your house, but this is much less energy-draining than cleaning your whole house.
Dry Cleaner – Test several, find one that does a good job and seems to have its act together. Nothing worse than planning a trip and realizing that its hit or miss as to whether your clothes will be clean.
Personal Trainer – If you can swing it, a professional will make you toe the line and keep you on track with your health goals. But perhaps you would rather work out with a friend, it can have the same or even better effect. Just make sure that your friend doesn’t often flake out on you (or you don’t flake out on them).
Personal Assistant – If you need support in your professional life and you have the budget consider a personal assistant. This is the person you can rely on to take care of the rest of your support system. Be careful in hiring this person, a bad assistant will add more stress not less. If a lot of your activity is online, you may want to consider an online personal assistant. This might be someone overseas who charges you less than $200 per month for nearly full-time support.
A Good Mechanic – If you drive a car, you will need maintenance. Maintenance can be expensive so find someone you can trust to give you good advice, and someone who you trust with dropping off your car for an oil change or to fix a tire.
Barber/Hairstylist/Beautician – You want to have confidence that you look good. There is nothing worse than a bad haircut that you have to live with until the next time you need one. It may take a couple of years to find a good one by trial and error, or perhaps you can take the advice of a friend (who is well coiffe’d) on who to go to. To lack confidence because of a bad hairstyle is just not worth the $5 you save by going to a discount barber.
Doctor – In today’s medical environment, finding a good doctor is becoming harder and harder to do, since medical practices hire doctors and shift patients around like cattle. You may need more than one doctor if you have particular chronic problems and need a specialist. But make sure that you have confidence in the doctor(s) you see. Or shop for a new one.
Delivery Services – Restaurants you like, Amazon account, pet grooming, anything that you need and have a satisfactory connection, consider them part of your support system.
When you can add to your network, write it down, put it into your phone, put your references to them all in one place. The goal is to solve a problem, get a service or otherwise make arrangements with a few seconds of effort rather than having to start from scratch each time.
Good luck!
3 comments
Comments are closed.