2570: Hack Away at the Unessential by Ross Enamait of Ross Training on How to Improve Focus & Productivity

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[00:01:43] This is Optimal Health Daily, episode 2570. Hack away at the unessential by Ross Enemite

[00:01:50] of rostraining.com. And I'm Dr. Neil, your host and narrator.

[00:01:55] Welcome back to another episode of Optimal Health Daily. This is where I read to you from some of

[00:02:00] the best health and fitness blogs on the web, kind of like an ongoing audiobook, and always

[00:02:05] with a bit of my commentary at the end. Now today is Wednesday and like I do every Wednesday,

[00:02:10] I like to share a little bit of inspiration with you. So with that, here we go.

[00:02:16] Quote, Keep focused on who and what are most important in your life.

[00:02:22] Larry Renda. In fact, today's post is filled with wonderful inspirational quotes. So with that,

[00:02:30] let's get right to it as we optimize your life. Hack away at the unessential by Ross Enemite of

[00:02:40] rostraining.com. Quote, It's not the daily increase, but daily decrease.

[00:02:48] Hack away at the unessential. Bruce Lee. A few years ago, I shared a video from

[00:02:55] Joe Rogan where he discussed the concept of striving to become the hero of your own movie.

[00:03:01] Rogan's original message was powerful and quickly went viral. It's one of those videos that never

[00:03:06] gets old and always provides a quick boost of energy. Yet, even if you've heard it before,

[00:03:12] I encourage you to listen again. One of the most important pieces of advice that

[00:03:17] Rogan offers isn't about what you need to do, but rather what you need to stop doing. In some ways,

[00:03:24] you could say that Rogan's advice is similar to Bruce Lee's classic message about hacking away at

[00:03:29] the unessential. Be the hero of your own movie. As stated within the video, quote,

[00:03:37] Write down things that you've done in the past that you never want to see yourself do again.

[00:03:42] End quote. So often, we think of a hero as a person or figure of action. After all,

[00:03:50] no one becomes a hero without heroic acts. The hero is the doer. They go out and do things.

[00:03:56] They are defined by their actions. Yet, while the hero may be defined by action, such actions

[00:04:04] may never happen if the individual doesn't first hack away at the unessential. Therefore,

[00:04:10] when considering what the hero would do in your movie, it's useful to first identify

[00:04:15] what the hero would not do. Beyond your to-do list.

[00:04:20] Most people who wish to elicit change in their life focus on what they need to do. I'd bet money

[00:04:26] that almost everyone hearing this has at one time created and followed a to-do list. Unfortunately,

[00:04:33] creating a to-do list doesn't guarantee that you will get everything done.

[00:04:37] One of the biggest barriers to change is wasted time. Ultimately, there's only so many items

[00:04:43] you can knock off your to-do list if you waste all day engaged in activities that don't contribute

[00:04:48] towards your betterment. With that in mind, the to-do list is really no more important than the

[00:04:54] no longer do list. If you truly wish to change or improve, you need to hack away at the time

[00:05:00] wasters that eat up your day. For example, how much time do you spend watching television

[00:05:05] and browsing social media? How often do you check your email? Are there any other

[00:05:10] mindless activities that you can cut back on? Take a moment to honestly audit your day in search

[00:05:16] of time wasters. I'm sure that we can all hack away at a few items that do nothing but waste time.

[00:05:23] Have a plan Cutting back on time wasters is

[00:05:26] certainly a great start, but you also need a plan to move forward. You should wake up each day with

[00:05:31] a clear list of actions and priorities. Don't waste the first half of your day trying to figure

[00:05:37] out what the heck you need to do. Figure it out the night before so you can wake up and get started.

[00:05:43] I spend a few minutes each night jotting down exactly what I would like to accomplish the next

[00:05:48] day. I don't use any fancy apps or programs. I just jot a few things down in a notebook

[00:05:53] that's always close by. The few minutes that it takes each night gets me eager to attack the next

[00:05:59] day before it's even started. In other words, the momentum that starts in the evening carries over

[00:06:05] each day. It's a continuous cycle that has certainly helped me to accomplish more in days

[00:06:10] that never seem long enough to get everything done. Final thoughts I'm sure many of you have

[00:06:17] already heard Joe Rogan's speech about becoming your own hero. He certainly delivers a powerful

[00:06:22] message that will get your blood flowing. Just be sure that your excitement to move forward

[00:06:27] is coupled with an assessment of existing time wasters that must be abandoned. Doing more

[00:06:34] often requires that you do less. Always remember that ambitious people don't have the luxury of

[00:06:40] living longer days. We are all limited to 24 hours. Thus, the people who do get ahead in this

[00:06:46] world don't just do more than everyone else. In some respects, they also do less. They waste

[00:06:53] less time on mindless activities that do not contribute towards their goals. In summary,

[00:06:59] seek to hack away at the unessential and focus more on the actions that will help you

[00:07:04] to become a better version of yourself. You just listened to the post titled

[00:07:12] Hack away at the unessential by Ross Anamite of rostraining.com and I'll be right back with my

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[00:08:30] Dr. Neil here for my commentary. Now, does removing the unessential tasks in our lives

[00:08:36] automatically mean that we must constantly be moving? Does this mean we need to constantly

[00:08:42] be doing something productive? Absolutely not. Instead, what today's author is saying is that

[00:08:48] there are times when we could be productive and other times when our bodies and minds need a

[00:08:53] break. The important thing is to think about how much time we're spending being productive and

[00:08:59] how much time we're spending thinking we're being productive but actually just wasting time.

[00:09:05] I'll give you an example. Staring at the computer screen or your phone and just scrolling

[00:09:10] when you're supposed to be being productive at that moment and you're not really engaging

[00:09:14] with the information, this is probably a time waster. But if you're just scrolling because

[00:09:21] this is your downtime or your break time and you're doing this with the intent of turning

[00:09:26] your brain off, then that's great. But if you're staring at a screen and your mind is wandering

[00:09:31] and you're supposed to be productive at that time, that means your body and mind are telling

[00:09:35] you something. Time to take a mental break. Take a break and then return to your work.

[00:09:42] You'll probably find that when you get back after that break, you're going to be ready

[00:09:47] and be more productive so that you can be that hero.

[00:09:51] All right, that'll do it for today. I hope you have a great rest of your day and of course,

[00:09:55] I'll see you back here on tomorrow's show where your optimal life awaits.