Fifth Avenue Forum

Mrs Tif is a power napper. She takes 15-20 naps every single day, working or not. If I go to sleep at any point, it is an hours-long operation.

Yeah, this is me too. I never nap unless I got mixed up something extremely taxing.

Together, we also will take a walk around our backyard and pause at a few points and just breathe and look at things. There are a couple specific places we do mini sun salutes to slow ourselves down.

Any noticeable effects? Did something in particular prompt yous to start doing that?

this is a good one

i have tried to routinize everything as much as possible which helps keep things as predictable as possible
wake up every morning at 445. exercise for 30 minutes. used to listen to people say how exercising first thing helps them be more productive but ive been doing this for about 6 weeks now its been a huge benefit mentally

no meetings over 45 minutes; try to schedule everything for 30 minutes.

before i leave every day i have my next day's calendar and also write the top 3 things i need to accomplish on it. next thing in the AM when i first arrive, i review it in my car. my normal walk from car to office is abotu 2 minutes but i have developed a 10 minute path outside and pop my airpods in with noise cancelling and think about the day priority management and how my top 3 items and anything that happened over night will fit in to my day. i do this every day rain or shine on any day i dont have a meeting before 0630

dont touch my email or laptop at home once i get home

try to meet with a leader in an outside industry once a month to learn from them about their world and how they succeed to remove tunnel vision

Together, we also will take a walk around our backyard and pause at a few points and just breathe and look at things. There are a couple specific places we do mini sun salutes to slow ourselves down.

Any noticeable effects? Did something in particular prompt yous to start doing that?

Oh, it's great. We started it during the initial COVID lockdowns in 2020, when Mrs Tif effectively went into a sort of house arrest to keep her as much out of harm's way as we could do. It was sort of the only outdoor space she saw for like 5 or 6 months. So aside from being a pressure relief valve for that specific situation, we have continued the practice because it's super relaxing. It's especially great in the spring and summer months, when most of our trees and/or flowers are in full tree and/or flower mode. There are nice smells, lots of birds and other little critters, the warmth of the sun, the connection to each other. It's just a wonderful, low-impact, no-cost way to pass 10 minutes of your life.

In terms of recharge, for me that's about as close as I can get to a nap. lol

Re: Litt

Wow, that’s like a living LinkedIn profile.

I definitely do not possess that attention span and drive

that's a lot of naps

Whoa, really good stuff LITT ...great contribution.

You mentioned that you started doing exercise right after you wake up for the last six weeks...did anything in particular prompt that? Did you use to exercise at a different time? What have you experienced mentally, broadly?

I also always exercise in the morning. Really helps set my day and wakes up my mind/body. I was doing that pre-pandemic as well.

Together, we also will take a walk around our backyard and pause at a few points and just breathe and look at things. There are a couple specific places we do mini sun salutes to slow ourselves down.

Any noticeable effects? Did something in particular prompt yous to start doing that?

Oh, it's great. We started it during the initial COVID lockdowns in 2020, when Mrs Tif effectively went into a sort of house arrest to keep her as much out of harm's way as we could do. It was sort of the only outdoor space she saw for like 5 or 6 months. So aside from being a pressure relief valve for that specific situation, we have continued the practice because it's super relaxing. It's especially great in the spring and summer months, when most of our trees and/or flowers are in full tree and/or flower mode. There are nice smells, lots of birds and other little critters, the warmth of the sun, the connection to each other. It's just a wonderful, low-impact, no-cost way to pass 10 minutes of your life.

In terms of recharge, for me that's about as close as I can get to a nap. lol

Awesome.

Maybe I could make walks a more regular routine than I do...not that I have a yard...but I think I saw some grass about three blocks over the other day haha

Many moons ago I did two back-to-back rounds of P90X, scheduling the workouts for early AM right after waking up. (I started a third round, but hurt my shoulder and had to seriously pare things back after that.) But I learned that early AM workouts are kind of great, and I wish I could find that level of motivation again.

before i leave every day i have my next day's calendar and also write the top 3 things i need to accomplish on it.

same, this is a good one

Also, when possible, anything less than 5 minutes on the to-do list/in the inbox, I take care of right away. The ease of getting it out of the way outweighs the stress of the task if it's hanging around. imo

Morning work outs are the way to go. My sleep has been **** for a bit so I am in no shape for getting up and out of the house by 5:30am.

I have started trying later workouts recently. The gym is a zoo at 6, so I try to get there 7-8.

This actually helps the sleep issue a bit as well cause I am not calling it a day before 9, which is where my problems stem from

I try to ride the bike three days a week and do so over lunch. I didn't mention it before because it's a system drain that day but my health does benefit over time.

I get up every half hour or so, find my cat, and pet her for a minute or two.

Our lives have gotten more chaotic by the day, so I started taking about five minutes each night to set goals for the following day. Work related, life related, house related, whatever. Allows me to plan through the chaos and rack up some little W's along the way.

I've also started making my lunch break my exercise time. Breaks up the day, gives me a boost, and fits in well with my intermittent fasting schedule.

Whoa, really good stuff LITT ...great contribution.

You mentioned that you started doing exercise right after you wake up for the last six weeks...did anything in particular prompt that? Did you use to exercise at a different time? What have you experienced mentally, broadly?

i was lazy and used my kid waking up as an excuse to not do it. there will never be a good time for both my wife and i to do what we want so i do it in the morning and when i get home she does it. in terms of experience, easier to focus, able to accomplish tasks easier are probably the two biggest things.

I tried the 4-5 AM jog in the morning thing for like 1-2 months a few years ago. Just could not keep up with it. I didn't feel any more energized and hating running anyway. If anything I was more tired throughout the day.

Ideally, I would love to be able to ride my bike in the morning. Maybe that will mean getting a stationary someday, but not in the market for it now.

Re: Litt

Wow, that’s like a living LinkedIn profile.

I definitely do not possess that attention span and drive

its been a slog and definitely incrementalism to get to current state but at this point in time, many things just take care of themselves and i am unconsciously skilled at many of my daily tasks. its also a work in progress and iterative with how it evolves. for me, its really just been about being smarter with my time. i was doing many of the things but being deliberate about my time has brought new efficiencies - i.e. if i am walking across the facility to a meeting, i will give myself 10 extra minutes to check in to see if the user change request on the construction project was finished, check in with a team member, and talk with some visitors and those are things that were occupying my headspace before but now just happen automatically

Good thread. I feel dirty saying that.

My theme for the year inside and outside work is INCREMENTAL IMPROVEMENT. What are simple little things I can start doing that become habitual?

Mine has been more mentality based so far - try not to be miserable over stupid ****, which is essentially almost everything adverse. Ive found enjoyment.

Two little physical things:
(1) shower upon waking each work day. I got away from this last year, especially mornings after hockey. But for me it's a big mental boost even if not necessary for hygiene
(2) no phone whatsoever between dinner and when the kids go to bed. Sometimes I fail at this especially during pens games when I come here to b*tch, but it's helped me break the addiction habit and build deeper connections with my wife and kids on a daily basis.

I grab a nap, 30-60 minutes. I was talking to the Safety Director once and mentioned that I usually get a nap when I WFH and I just feel so much more alert after. He confirmed that there are studies that show safety improves when people get a short nap during the day.

Agree with js, more than an hour and I'm a slug the rest of the day. Even if I take one on the weekend and have Pens tickets or another event I am looking forward to in the evening- I usually don't really feel like doing whatever that is if I take an extended nap.

Wife and I started to do the phone thing at some point last year, need to get back to it. After dinner we would go downstairs to the family room and leave our phones upstairs all night to try and not fall into the habit of just staring into our phones while sitting next to each other.

I'm still trying to get my wife there with the phone thing, but I've found it's better to lead by example than directly tell her to put it away. Right before dinner I put my phone upstairs on the night stand though

I try to ride the bike three days a week and do so over lunch. I didn't mention it before because it's a system drain that day but my health does benefit over time.

I've been doing this every day except Wednesday for 30 minutes between 12-3. I think I'm going to start doing it first thing in the morning to try and knock it out.

I agree with outdoor walks. very therapeutic to be able to observe nature/the world while also getting some exercise

I do miss having my guitar on the same floor as my WFH station.

In office, I do a collection every morning that requires me to walk across campus, so that's usually my in-office reprieve.