I used to struggle with getting things done.

Part of it was motivation.

The other part was poor scheduling.

Yet, over the years, I’ve learned from excellent mentors who have consistently shared a similar lesson.

‘What you schedule is real. What isn’t scheduled is a fantasy.’

It’s been an ongoing process of growth over the past decade, noting where I’ve dropped the ball and where I’m doing well.

For example, most people complain about not having time to workout or meal prep.

Yet, those same people are on their phones for several hours a day, fooling around on Netflix and waking up late.

There’s no right or wrong.

But there is a correct way to manage your time and energy.

Years later, I no longer see my calendar as a ‘time management’ tool…

But as an energy management tool.

Our life is made of energy (our life-force).

How we use our time is how we use our energy.

How you use your calendar is how you use your life.

The definition of discipline is to command yourself to take action.

It’s not about beating ourselves up.

Or making ourselves wrong.

Many people have a negative connection with schedules and ‘discipline’ due to childhood conditioning.

Yet, rewiring this relationship will change your life (permanently).

Rather than ‘disciplining’ yourself - take full ownership.

Rather than following your ‘schedule’ - commit to your actions.

That’s what I’ve found helpful.

Maybe you might too.

(today’s letter is a special edition with direct notes from our Accelerator 2.0 program - enjoy 🙂)

Lesson: If it’s not scheduled, it’s not real.

Here's Your 1-3-1 Friday:

#1.) Boulders, Rocks, Pebbles

Success doesn’t happen randomly.

It happens by design.

If it’s not scheduled - it’s not real.

Especially regarding workouts, meals, shopping, sleep, meditation, etc.

The goal of scheduling is to create a repetitive pattern within yourself that ingrains itself into your identity.

Using a high performance scheduling system can solve this for you.

So let’s discuss what the boulders, rocks, and pebbles mean.

The boulders represent the things in life that give you ENERGY and are ESSENTIAL.

The rocks (or gravel) represent the things in life that are important but secondary.

The pebbles represent the minutiae of life.

Each of these 3 areas are how we live our lives.

Yet, most of us have these areas backwards. Upside down.

We put the gravel and pebbles FIRST, then run out of room for the boulders.

Here’s a great video that explains the origins of this exercise:

If you do this correctly, you won’t struggle with missing workouts, sleep, time with family/friends, trips, date nights - ever again.

And you’ll be able to drop body fat and build muscle with ease since you’re consistent with your fitness actions.

Here’s how to create your high performance fitness system.

Exercise #1

On a piece of paper, write out 3 columns.

Column 1 (BOULDERS): What gives you ENERGY? These are your non-negotiables and energy-making activities.

(e.g., sleep, morning routine, walks, workouts, meals, playing with kids, trips, date night, friend time, playing sports, etc.)

Column 2 (ROCKS): What NEEDS to be done for financial stability, wealth, and work (e.g., working hours, projects, money-making activities)

Column 3 (PEBBLES): What still needs to be DONE but doesn’t necessarily give you energy nor move your life forward (e.g., laundry, cleaning, yard work, admin work, etc)

Most people have these columns upside down.

They start with the pebbles and rocks FIRST, then don’t have time for the BOULDERS later.

You won’t have this problem moving forward since you’re doing this correctly.

Finish writing out AS MANY items on your 3 columns until you’ve fully exhausted ideas and tasks.

You’ll be bringing activities into your second exercise below. 🙂

#2.) Master Your Schedule

Moving into exercise #2, we’ll take everything you wrote in your first exercise and start to make it real.

Google Calendar will be your best tool for this exercise.

While there are many scheduling apps and calendar tools, I’ve tested Google Calendar for over 10+ years with an extremely high success rate.

Here’s a brief overview on how to create an efficient workflow using GC.

Step-by-Step Overview:

1. Step One: Start with your column 1 tasks using a BLANK Google Calendar. The goal here is to fill in AS MANY of your column 1 tasks FIRST until you feel confident that every week and month, you’ll be energized.
2. Step Two: After this, you’ll move into your column 2 tasks. Your column 2 tasks will absorb more of your time since they’re still important (and often money-making activities.)
   1. However, you’ll notice that having put your workouts, meals, and even sleep into your calendar, you’ll have STRONG BOUNDARIES on your non-negotiables and energy-making activities.
   2. Fill in the days and times as needed.
3. Step Three: Finally, close out your calendar and finish up with your column 3 tasks. These are the least important, and although they may need to be completed, they don’t necessarily need to be completed by you.
4. Step Four: Set up any events on the calendar as one-time or recurring, and add any notes needed to the calendar event.
5. BONUS: You can also color code your events if you’d like. It can help differentiate events and know what’s coming up next (but not necessary). You can choose any color code system you’d like, but ensure you understand it.
   1. E.g. Red = admin, Green = workouts, meals, Blue = reading, learning, Dark green = money-making activities

#3.) Review Systems (schedule this)

 

Moving forward, put aside 1-2 hours to review your past 30 days every month.

Monthly Review (schedule this)

Use the following high-level questions when reviewing your calendar:

1. How well did I commit to my schedule last month? (1-7, 7 being highest)
2. What did I learn about myself from the past month?
3. What areas of improvement or growth do I have available?
4. Which habit or task do I need to recommit to?
5. What were my biggest wins/lessons/insights from last month?
6. What can I eliminate, reduce, resource, automate, or delegate?
7. How can I make this month even more joyful and effective?

Weekly Review (schedule this)

Moving forward, put aside 30-60 minutes to review your past week every week.

Use the following high-level questions when reviewing your calendar:

1. How well did I commit to my schedule last week? (1-7, 7 being highest)
2. What did I learn about myself from the past week?
3. What areas of improvement or growth do I have available?
4. Which habit or task do I need to recommit to?
5. What were my biggest wins/lessons/insights from last week?
6. What can I eliminate, reduce, resource, automate, or delegate?
7. How can I make this week even more joyful and effective?

Daily Reconciliation (schedule this) Finally, ending your day with a 5-minute review has been one of the most game-changing habits I’ve seen.

Here’s how it works:

1. At the end of each day, review your calendar for 5 minutes.
2. If you missed any activities, tasks, or events (like workouts, meals, health habits, etc.), notice what happened and respond positively by RESCHEDULING IT.
3. Once rescheduled on your calendar, recommit to FOLLOWING THROUGH on the next day scheduled.

Missing workouts, meals, habits, etc., is part of life.

Things happen, and unexpected events, later work, and family time can all throw off the best health plans.

However, by taking FULL OWNERSHIP and acknowledging any mishaps or bumps in the road is part of being a mature adult.

Reschedule. Recommit. Follow through.

Call it progress over perfection.

BONUS: Once you complete this exercise (budget 30-60 minutes for the first time doing this), email me a screenshot for extra accountability (I read all of my emails). 🙂

1 Action Step

Create a scheduling system that works for your life. Commit to scheduling your workouts and meals (as a bare minimum).

One Quote To Finish Your Week Strong

Got back to the States this week.

I sense 2024 will continue to be an interesting year.

Stay grounded and centered in the chaos.

- Gabriel

Whenever you're ready, there are three ways I can help you:

#1 ​Join our free high-performance fitness FB group​ to get access to dozens of live trainings recorded along with a tight-knit group of leaders who want to get healthy, lean, and strong.

#2 Are you a high achiever who wants to be lean, strong, and lead by example? ​Apply for private 1:1 coaching​ and get in the best shape of your life (2-week waiting list).

#3 Want to fuel your fitness curiosity and follow along with the latest findings, insights, and evidence-based practices? Let's be friends on ​Facebook ​and ​Instagram​. :)

(feel free to DM me anytime - I love connecting with new friends worldwide).