Over the next 6 weeks, I have several huge projects coming down the pipeline (I’ve never used that phrase before, ha!).

#treadLIFT launches May 3^rd, I’m hosting the JillFit Ambassador Mastermind this coming weekend here in LA, Radiance Retreat is mid-May and I am speaking at Paleo f(x), plus holding the Best of You Inner Circle Mastermind the last week in May in Austin, TX.

Phew, exhausted just writing that.

All good things, obviously, and all self-imposed of course, which makes finding gratitude and excitement in it all a lot easier. But that still doesn’t change the fact that there is a shitload of stuff to get done—I’m writing 15 guest blogs alone for #treadLIFT!

Anyway, you might have heard me talk about “rest-based living” before.

It’s a play on Metabolic Effect’s Rest-Based Training (RBT) philosophy, where you work in bursts and then have intermittent periods of rest and recovery. It’s kind of like an autonomous version interval training. You can apply it to exercise or well, life: work, rest, work, rest, etc.

It’s also a concept adapted from a book that I read years ago—when I was grinding 24/7 at that Fitness Hustle/Gym Life, burning the candle at both ends—called ‘The Power of Full Engagement’ by Tony Schwartz, and it totally changed the way I did things.

The main idea is that in order to boost your productivity, you have to schedule in strategic downtime in order to be able to focus more when it’s time to work. And by doing so, you get more actual stuff done in less time. You don’t manage your time so much as your energy.

Seems counterintuitive, right? Like, “Jill, the LAST thing I can afford it to take down time! Are you crazy?”

I get that, and believe me, I feel that 100% right now!

But I am forcing myself to take time away from work in order to reset my mental game and stay focused.

And so far it’s working.

We all have times like this, when things are a bit busier (I am of the mind that things never really “slow down,” so saying you’ll put things off until they do almost guarantees it’ll never get prioritized). But when things are stressful and busier, I have some non-negotiables that I implement in my schedule to stay sane, healthy and productive in my process.

Yes, this might feel impossible when you have a million things to do, but I guarantee the fastest way to burn yourself out, get sick, crave a bunch of junk food and generally be miserable and unproductive is if you skimp on sleep.

But here’s the catch: sleep has preemptive utility.

Which means that when you get enough of it, you are actually more productive during the following day, so you, ahem, don’t have to stay up late to finish stuff.

I am always the most productive and creative in the morning, so I have been getting up at 5am, which means that my hard deadline for being in bed (and actually turning off the phone!) is 9pm. Nonnegotiable. If I do nothing else, I do that.

I have barely any time. But I will be a miserable, crabby monster if I don’t work off some stress in the gym. I commit to 30 minutes, even if I feel like I am in a rhythm and it would be easier to just skip and keep plugging away.

Lately I have been beta testing the #treadLIFT workouts, which are all 30 minutes or less and include both cardio and weight training portions. This is physical multitasking at its best, and it’s getting me sweaty, breathless, burning and I can see my body changing week to week—more defined midsection especially. Intensity trumps duration for results. And I’m there, 4 days per week.

(BTW, if you aren’t on the wait list for #treadLIFT, you can add HERE for all the early details!)

Around 4pm every day I head out and walk for an hour. Again, this might feel like a luxury, but it’s not. I always get a huge second wind of creativity around 6pm when I do this, which makes me way more productive. Even if I have to stop what I am doing, I go.

Under normal circumstances, I’ll be listening to business podcasts or audiobooks while I’m walking since I love learning and it always gets my creativity flowing. But last week, I was so mentally burned out by the time I hit my walk that I couldn’t even focus on anything I was listening to, so I just said screw it and started bumpin’ out to Drake, lol.

Music can be hugely restorative! And it was a relief to give myself permission to not have to be stuffing my brain every second.

When thinking about ways to reset your mental game, be strategic.

Things like video games, long periods of TV watching, surfing the web, gambling, online shopping, etc., tend to not be the most effective ways. They can tap us out even more (this is called ‘psychic entropy’) even though they can feel relaxing in the moment. We eventually become listless.

On the other hand, leisure walks, stretching, meditation, foam rolling, hot showers/baths, reading, conversation with a friend, laughing (I do watch standup comedy on YouTube sometimes!) and quickie 20-30 minute naps tend to make us feel more recharged after.

Sleep, train intensely for a short amount of time, leisure walk. These are the non-negotiables that if I don’t do anything else, I get them in. They help me structure my day too, because between them, I have intensely focused “time blocks” of work, where I get a ton done (like write this email in 30 minutes!).

I know it feels risky.

I know it feels hard to take time away when you have shitload to do, but you aren’t a robot, and your brain and/or body will let you know just how tapped out you are if you keep putting it off.

Respond and let me know the #1 way you recharge. What works well, what doesn’t?

Finally, a quick reminder: #treadLIFT wait list HERE.

More to come! Have a great hump day ;)

Xo,

Jill

P.S. If you are wondering where nutrition fits in, honestly I just do my best. Never perfect and never going off the rails. I eat #moderation365 and don’t stress if I have a few extra malt balls, ha! Life is too short and I have too many other things to worry about that stressing over calories is just not that high on the list of priorities. I eat to feel healthy and to fuel my workouts and my brain power. Simple. NEXT!