The more time you spend trying to reach FIRE the more you’ll come to realise that a lot of everything we do is about lifestyle adjustment. This year I’ve set out to really change a lot of my daily habits to improve my quality of life……………the core goal being to have more energy to tackle the multifarious challenges of reaching FIRE.
Let’s face it the biggest challenges most of us facing reaching fire is having more time to earn more money to be able to save more, create more opportunities and reach the crossing line quicker.
But beggar me can this be a challenge.
You work a 9-5, you’ve got to do the cooking, the cleaning, look after the sprogs if you have them…write the dam blog posts 😉
It’s…….all…..so…tiring.
There’s no getting around it life is a busy bloody mess a lot of the time. You need more energy – mental and physical if you’re anything like me.
This is where installing some really good life habits can help – it can get you more without having to actually feel like hard work – once you’re formed the habits anyway. The 3 habits below are ones that have really helped me find more time and energy in my day.
N.B. it takes sixty days to form a habit according to science, but some of these once you start doing you’ll wonder why you ever stopped.
Habit 1: Get better sleep
Having a good sleep cycle ensures you have plenty of energy throughout the day and means you’ll feel significantly better. I tackled this particular problem in 4 key ways
- Started going to bed at the same time every day – not to sleep just actually in bed
- Removed all screens from my bedroom – no mobile phones, no laptop and absolutely no TV…anymore. Screens are hell for sleep. I now have books and more books.
- Bought better everything – better pillows, better bedding and a better mattress
- Decluttered my room – it was full of odds and sods, clothes piled up, ornaments everywhere – I’ve cut these right back so the space feels more relaxing
This has paid better dividends than any stocks I’ve ever purchased I’m now getting consistent sleep every night, feeling relaxed in my bedroom and the space now is designed to help me relax and unwind.
Habit 2: Daily Exercise
If you’re anything like me you’re never likely to have that beach bod and a six pack – not when there are six packs of beer available at the weekends. However, if you work a desk job the chances are you’re not even vaguely getting enough exercise even if you’re going to the gym three times a week.
Every study shows that a sedentary lifestyle is a killer – and what’s the point of FIRE if you’re not going to live to enjoy it.
I’ve tackled this in 3 ways
- A walk every lunch – My calendar is now 100% kept clear from 1-2. No meetings, no last minute anything, no prep for a pitch. At 1pm I go for a walk – if I don’t have much time I’ll go for 20 mins, if I’ve got more I’ll go for 45mins. This keeps me active and breaks up the day.
- A standing desk – I bought a standing desk from Amazon and set myself the goal to use it for an hour at least a day. It helps posture, it helps keep you moving and keeps you energised. I thought this would be bad for actually working on but turns out it helps productivity quite a lot – plus I can dance to the radio which adds more energy.
- 10 min mid-afternoon exercise break – I hit my slump around 3.30pm every day….it’s nearly over. Typically, my energy and concentration starts to plummet. The solution is a quick 10 min weights session, or ten minutes on the bike. This gets the blood pumping and seems to keep me going through to the early evening.
These few simple changes have massively increased my energy, and help me stay focused on my work in the day – which means I actually get more done and feel less swamped and less drained at the end of the day.
Habit 3: Meal Prep
Cooking at the end of the day can seem like a real chore and spending an hour cooking and washing up is actually quite a time sink if you want to be working on your income or on your side hustles. It results In lots of takeaways and comfort food when you just CBA! The answer is simple – prepare as much food in advance as possible. I’ve tackled this in 3 ways:
- Frozen breakfasts – I tend to eat around 10:30am as I never fancy breakfast so I have essentially a brunch. To make this easier I’ve started batch cooking breakfast burritos and egg and bacon muffins (when I want a decadent treat). I can cook large batches of each in a couple of hours and make 2 month’s worth of filling and tasty breakfasts.
- Box of salad – As I tend to have a good breakfast I’ve started making a box of salad at the weekend – drizzled with cider vinegar and some dressing it keeps all week in the fridge. Prep time is less than 10 minutes for a week’s worth of lunches.
- 1 pot Dinners – I’ve started cooking a single dinner every weekend – usually curry. I’ll make a big pot in my inherited le creuset pot and I’ll eat it all week. If I get bored of this I’ll freeze some of it – and reheat some of a previous week’s 1 pot that’s in the freezer. The first couple of weeks are a bit limiting but I now have – daahl, 2 types of curry, a goulash and a bean casserole to choose from if this week’s curry gets dull.
I’ve basically reduced all my cooking time to a few hours on a weekend, when I’m usually cleaning the kitchen anyway and this has helped free up some time but also meant I’m eating much more healthily – without any additional effort.
The habits that work for me might not work for you but it’s important to think about your health and energy levels when you’re trying to reach FIRE.
Got your own amazing FIRE habits or your own top tips for my 3 let me know in the comments below.