6 ms·

Five tips on making every day count, by Richard Branson

56 points by hjkm 9y ago

woliveirajr 9y ago
> You don’t have time for it, you make time for it I think this applies to many things, not just for fitness. Our time is limited, depending on how much money you have and where you live you even spend more (or less) time in some things. But in the end, there's some time that we choose on how to spend.
klausjensen 9y ago
Pretty damn good advice. With regards to exercise and breaks (two of the items in here), I think it is pretty much proven to be beneficial for productivity as well, but just to add my anecdotal success...: I used to hit the gym at around 18-19 in the evening. I would often be tired and the gym would be crowded. Then I switched to going around 13-14, breaking up my day. I found it gave me tremendous energy coming back from the gym to the office - and I would often have new ideas on how to solve, whatever I was working on. So if you have this kind of freedom in planning your workday, I encourage you to try it out - exercise in the middle of the day.
- jsonne 9y ago
  I actually did the same and it was life changing. Every day I would get tired and become unproductive at 2 or 3 in the afternoon regardless so I moved my gym time to there. I have more energy, I'm happier, I'm faster at the gym because it's empty. Highly recommended if you can make your schedule work with it.
  - dawhizkid 9y ago
    Often I have found lunch to be the culprit for feeling tired at 2-3. Once I limited my carb intake during lunch my afternoon slumps stopped.
    - leesec 9y ago
      Second this. It's my anecdotal experience that the trend of people 'feeling tired all the time' in modern American society is a result of the extremely large caloric intake that's become common for most meals.
      - dawhizkid 9y ago
        I'm actually surprised tech companies that provide free food don't actively try to limit carby/sugary offerings. Even things like cereal+milk are just glorified candy bars (nutritionally speaking).
        cowpewter 9y ago
        I think it comes down to a combination of money and perishability. Healthy food is expensive and perishable. Carby snacks are cheap and have a long shelf life.
      - jsonne 9y ago
        Interesting. I'm actually starting paleo today which is super low carb so I'll report back if that helps also.
- ElatedOwl 9y ago
  Aside from the gym being less busy, it gives me something to look forward to every day. Being able to thoroughly decompress about halfway through my day has been a huge boost for me.
- ryandrake 9y ago
  Assuming you’re employed, how do you go to the gym in the middle of the day? By the time you’ve commuted there, changed clothes, worked out, showered, dried off, changed again, and commuted back, you’re well over any lunch break time allotment I’ve ever seen.
  - ElatedOwl 9y ago
    For me personally, I get an hour unpaid lunch. I skip the shower. 4 days of the week I lift (one main lift with 2+ minute rest, 4-5 accessories with 1:30 rest) and one day I have enough time to run 3 miles (a little faster than a 9 minute mile). On days I run I wash my face and put on a fresh pair of underwear/socks. Maybe I'm gross but I think the shower is honestly unnecessary.
    - dorfsmay 9y ago
      It really depends on your genes. Some of us sweat a lot as soon as we do any kind of exercises, enough that changing clothes wouldn't be enough. Using water as cold as you'll tolerate helps keep the shower very short though!
  - saiya-jin 9y ago
    Having same regime 3-5 times/week. F*ck lunch break, I'll take a good workout any day and I am more than happy eating behind my desk to compensate that. Most lunch breaks anyway consist of empty chat about shallow things, no real long term added value. That way I can end up at 6 (waking up 8:30, starting +-9:00) and have whole evening for myself, while keeping in good shape for weekends and adventures. Edit: it helps to live&work in culture which has long tradition in massive lunch breaks (French/swiss-French in my case). It's vanishing, but still present. Or if your employer is not an idiot and supports regular workouts and staff that isn't just present but also performs.
  - klausjensen 9y ago
    I run my own business, and my gym is literally 5 minutes walk away from my office. I have a locker at the gym with a stock of clothes, so I don't have to pack a gym-bag every day (but more like once a week).
- 40acres 9y ago
  I go in the morning. I had to reconfigure my day and make some sacrifices but it's worth it. I wake up at 4:00, work out for about 70 minutes and get to work by 7:00. Starting your day off with a workout is great if you can do it. It's the physical equivalent of making your bed in the morning.
akerro 9y ago
0. Have $5.1 billion so you can do all the above
- tome 9y ago
  Is there any suggestion in the article that he didn't do all this stuff before he became wealthy?
  - mcguire 9y ago
    Would you have paid attention to his tips of he wasn't wealthy?
    - tome 9y ago
      That's not a well-defined question and moreover seems like a non-sequitur.
      - mcguire 9y ago
        I'll give you my one (1) tip: First thing every morning, eat a live frog. Nothing worse will happen to you all day.[1] How much attention do you think anyone is going to pay? [1] Or to the frog.
        tome 9y ago
        And your claim is that if you were wealthy I would pay attention to this tip of yours?
- corpMaverick 9y ago
  None of the tips require you to be wealthy. They are accessible at least for knowledge workers. i.e. Instead of sailing on the sea, you roller skate in the street.
- vidarh 9y ago
  The irony of a comment like this on an article that only suggests things that are basically free. He didn't suggest you jet off in your private plane for a quick refreshing week on your private island. He suggested you take breaks, start your day doing something you enjoy, exercise a bit, write down your goals, and work hard. I fail to see where money comes into it.
panic 9y ago
To save you a click, here are the five tips: 5. Do something fun as you start your day 4. Just do it! 3. Set goals and challenge yourself (and write them down) 2. Have a break 1. Do some good
- ryandrake 9y ago
  Yup, if advice were edible, this stuff is the empty calorie junk food. I’m surprised I didnt see “no pain no gain” in there too.
  - cloakandswagger 9y ago
    This reads like a throwaway article from LiveStrong or eHow.
    - yters 9y ago
      Maybe successful people are good at keeping things simple?
      - hjkm 9y ago
        I feel as the the most successful people I know 1. have routines and keep to them (whereas most people don't) and 2. keep their routines very simple.
mcguire 9y ago
From the article on failure yesterday: "There are many different ways to think of failure, most of which seem designed to soften the sting of it. In Courage to Soar, Ms. Biles unpacks her own thoughts on the matter. This memoir, "written" by a 19 year-old and published three months into her explosive post-Olympic popularity, is a pretty blatant cash-grab. Still, the book's purpose, beyond racking up sales, seems to be to inspire younger readers, young girls in particular. But why do we look for advice from the most talented in society? What do they know of our struggles to rise up, dripping and stinking, from the swamp of mediocrity? Here, for example, is Ms. Biles describing how, after some initial struggles, she finally managed to nail a tricky skill – a release move on the uneven bars called a Tkatchev in which you let go of the bar on the upswing and fly backward, usually straddled, over the bar before catching it. "And then, just before practice ended, I said to myself, I'm going to do it this time. And you know what? I actually did!" Must be nice."
darepublic 9y ago
To literally follow in Branson's footsteps implement the tips thusly: Kitesurf, Be confident, Jot notes on a notepad whilst flying first class Relax Cut a cheque to charity
Adamantcheese 9y ago
I don't think any of the tips actually go towards "making the day count" except for #4, and even then it's such generic and bland advice that it doesn't serve any purpose. This doesn't seem like it was written by Richard himself, it comes off as detached and some sort of appeal to make him seem relatable in this day and age. Especially considering the amount of pieces on "his" blog.
hjkm 9y ago
This is slightly off topic, but I always thought that, if I were loaded, one thing I would do more of would be kitesurfing. Which makes me feel very lucky today (I am NOT loaded), as I already kitesurf.

56 points by hjkm 9y ago

> You don’t have time for it, you make time for it I think this applies to many things, not just for fitness. Our time is limited, depending on how much money you have and where you live you even spend more (or less) time in some things. But in the end, there's some time that we choose on how to spend.

klausjensen 9y ago

Pretty damn good advice. With regards to exercise and breaks (two of the items in here), I think it is pretty much proven to be beneficial for productivity as well, but just to add my anecdotal success...: I used to hit the gym at around 18-19 in the evening. I would often be tired and the gym would be crowded. Then I switched to going around 13-14, breaking up my day. I found it gave me tremendous energy coming back from the gym to the office - and I would often have new ideas on how to solve, whatever I was working on. So if you have this kind of freedom in planning your workday, I encourage you to try it out - exercise in the middle of the day.

jsonne 9y ago
I actually did the same and it was life changing. Every day I would get tired and become unproductive at 2 or 3 in the afternoon regardless so I moved my gym time to there. I have more energy, I'm happier, I'm faster at the gym because it's empty. Highly recommended if you can make your schedule work with it.
- dawhizkid 9y ago
  Often I have found lunch to be the culprit for feeling tired at 2-3. Once I limited my carb intake during lunch my afternoon slumps stopped.
  - leesec 9y ago
    Second this. It's my anecdotal experience that the trend of people 'feeling tired all the time' in modern American society is a result of the extremely large caloric intake that's become common for most meals.
    - dawhizkid 9y ago
      I'm actually surprised tech companies that provide free food don't actively try to limit carby/sugary offerings. Even things like cereal+milk are just glorified candy bars (nutritionally speaking).
      - cowpewter 9y ago
        I think it comes down to a combination of money and perishability. Healthy food is expensive and perishable. Carby snacks are cheap and have a long shelf life.
    - jsonne 9y ago
      Interesting. I'm actually starting paleo today which is super low carb so I'll report back if that helps also.
ElatedOwl 9y ago
Aside from the gym being less busy, it gives me something to look forward to every day. Being able to thoroughly decompress about halfway through my day has been a huge boost for me.
ryandrake 9y ago
Assuming you’re employed, how do you go to the gym in the middle of the day? By the time you’ve commuted there, changed clothes, worked out, showered, dried off, changed again, and commuted back, you’re well over any lunch break time allotment I’ve ever seen.
- ElatedOwl 9y ago
  For me personally, I get an hour unpaid lunch. I skip the shower. 4 days of the week I lift (one main lift with 2+ minute rest, 4-5 accessories with 1:30 rest) and one day I have enough time to run 3 miles (a little faster than a 9 minute mile). On days I run I wash my face and put on a fresh pair of underwear/socks. Maybe I'm gross but I think the shower is honestly unnecessary.
  - dorfsmay 9y ago
    It really depends on your genes. Some of us sweat a lot as soon as we do any kind of exercises, enough that changing clothes wouldn't be enough. Using water as cold as you'll tolerate helps keep the shower very short though!
- saiya-jin 9y ago
  Having same regime 3-5 times/week. F*ck lunch break, I'll take a good workout any day and I am more than happy eating behind my desk to compensate that. Most lunch breaks anyway consist of empty chat about shallow things, no real long term added value. That way I can end up at 6 (waking up 8:30, starting +-9:00) and have whole evening for myself, while keeping in good shape for weekends and adventures. Edit: it helps to live&work in culture which has long tradition in massive lunch breaks (French/swiss-French in my case). It's vanishing, but still present. Or if your employer is not an idiot and supports regular workouts and staff that isn't just present but also performs.
- klausjensen 9y ago
  I run my own business, and my gym is literally 5 minutes walk away from my office. I have a locker at the gym with a stock of clothes, so I don't have to pack a gym-bag every day (but more like once a week).
40acres 9y ago
I go in the morning. I had to reconfigure my day and make some sacrifices but it's worth it. I wake up at 4:00, work out for about 70 minutes and get to work by 7:00. Starting your day off with a workout is great if you can do it. It's the physical equivalent of making your bed in the morning.

akerro 9y ago

0. Have $5.1 billion so you can do all the above

tome 9y ago
Is there any suggestion in the article that he didn't do all this stuff before he became wealthy?
- mcguire 9y ago
  Would you have paid attention to his tips of he wasn't wealthy?
  - tome 9y ago
    That's not a well-defined question and moreover seems like a non-sequitur.
    - mcguire 9y ago
      I'll give you my one (1) tip: First thing every morning, eat a live frog. Nothing worse will happen to you all day.[1] How much attention do you think anyone is going to pay? [1] Or to the frog.
      - tome 9y ago
        And your claim is that if you were wealthy I would pay attention to this tip of yours?
corpMaverick 9y ago
None of the tips require you to be wealthy. They are accessible at least for knowledge workers. i.e. Instead of sailing on the sea, you roller skate in the street.
vidarh 9y ago
The irony of a comment like this on an article that only suggests things that are basically free. He didn't suggest you jet off in your private plane for a quick refreshing week on your private island. He suggested you take breaks, start your day doing something you enjoy, exercise a bit, write down your goals, and work hard. I fail to see where money comes into it.

panic 9y ago

To save you a click, here are the five tips: 5. Do something fun as you start your day 4. Just do it! 3. Set goals and challenge yourself (and write them down) 2. Have a break 1. Do some good

ryandrake 9y ago
Yup, if advice were edible, this stuff is the empty calorie junk food. I’m surprised I didnt see “no pain no gain” in there too.
- cloakandswagger 9y ago
  This reads like a throwaway article from LiveStrong or eHow.
  - yters 9y ago
    Maybe successful people are good at keeping things simple?
    - hjkm 9y ago
      I feel as the the most successful people I know 1. have routines and keep to them (whereas most people don't) and 2. keep their routines very simple.

mcguire 9y ago

From the article on failure yesterday: "There are many different ways to think of failure, most of which seem designed to soften the sting of it. In Courage to Soar, Ms. Biles unpacks her own thoughts on the matter. This memoir, "written" by a 19 year-old and published three months into her explosive post-Olympic popularity, is a pretty blatant cash-grab. Still, the book's purpose, beyond racking up sales, seems to be to inspire younger readers, young girls in particular. But why do we look for advice from the most talented in society? What do they know of our struggles to rise up, dripping and stinking, from the swamp of mediocrity? Here, for example, is Ms. Biles describing how, after some initial struggles, she finally managed to nail a tricky skill – a release move on the uneven bars called a Tkatchev in which you let go of the bar on the upswing and fly backward, usually straddled, over the bar before catching it. "And then, just before practice ended, I said to myself, I'm going to do it this time. And you know what? I actually did!" Must be nice."

darepublic 9y ago

To literally follow in Branson's footsteps implement the tips thusly: Kitesurf, Be confident, Jot notes on a notepad whilst flying first class Relax Cut a cheque to charity

Adamantcheese 9y ago

I don't think any of the tips actually go towards "making the day count" except for #4, and even then it's such generic and bland advice that it doesn't serve any purpose. This doesn't seem like it was written by Richard himself, it comes off as detached and some sort of appeal to make him seem relatable in this day and age. Especially considering the amount of pieces on "his" blog.

hjkm 9y ago

This is slightly off topic, but I always thought that, if I were loaded, one thing I would do more of would be kitesurfing. Which makes me feel very lucky today (I am NOT loaded), as I already kitesurf.