The Secret to Finding The Time To Fit It All In

I’ve always been interested in looking at the habits of different mentors and gaining an understanding of how they utilize their time. One of the biggest things I hear from patients is how they would like to do more to take care of themselves but they just don’t have the time do so. (Most of us can probably relate to that feeling).

What I’ve noticed in our life as the boys have gotten older, is that the busier they become, the more my free time has been impeded. However, I believe we always find time to do the things that are highest on our value system and therefore I look for these 10-15 minute windows throughout the day to do something beneficial for my health.

I really feel this concept has been helpful to get other people to think in small chunks of time versus trying to look for an hour. I’ve always said that if you looked at my routines you wouldn’t be impressed at the intensity or rigidness with which I perform them, but I am proud of my consistency and how I can utilize small chunks of time effectively.

I will give you a couple of different examples of what a typical day might look like for me. My weekdays look different from my weekends and things can also change seasonally as our kids' activities change.

Weekday routine

I start work at a different time almost every day so my available "free time" in the morning varies. In the last few years I have prioritized my sleep so I aim for roughly 7 hours each night and I wake up around 7am.

I will do one of a few things immediately upon waking. Some mornings I will complete a round of Wim Hof breathwork in my bed which could take 15 mins. Or, if I am pressed for time, I think about what I am grateful for and what I want to accomplish in that day. When I come downstairs, I will always get a glass of water and I will start the coffee maker if Cindy hasn’t already done so.  From there I will either stretch, do a bit of yoga or go for a walk with Fenway.

One of my new habits that I’ve enjoyed is taking Fenway out first thing in the morning. Obviously, he needs to go out but it's also very good for me to get some fresh air and sunlight exposure early in the day.  This is helpful for our circadian rhythms and can help us produce melatonin at night so we can get to sleep.

As business owners, Cindy and I are currently splitting shifts at the clinic. So if Cindy is at the clinic in the morning then that means I am responsible to get the boys up, get them breakfast, help them with their lunches and drive them to school. There’s a small gap between when I get home from dropping off my youngest and when the older boys need to be up so I take advantage of that 15 minutes and either do some type of yoga, stretching, Pilates or core work.

Once I drop the other boys off at school I have approximately an hour and depending on the day, I often do a home workout in the garage followed by an infrared sauna session. If I don't workout I might do an online yoga class for 20 or 30 minutes.  This all depends on what I have done in the previous few days and how recovered I feel.  The more energy I have, the harder I will push myself.  If I've had a few days of harder workouts then I will take it easy but still look to do some "active recovery."

We invested in a red light therapy device so I use this before I get in the shower and then I will take a cold shower. Now I am awake! When I’ve finished my cold shower I will often do another few minutes on the red light to warm up.

Now I feel ready to tackle my day at the clinic which would usually involve a full six or seven hour shift of seeing patients. If I feel like eating in the morning, I will often have eggs or a protein smoothie of some kind. When I return home I will eat supper and we typically have one of the kids' activities to go to.

Once 9 o’clock rolls around, we are starting to get the kids ready for bed and I often use this time to check e-mail, review some ongoing projects or perhaps relax and watch something together with the boys. I generally utilize the last hour to do some other forms of light stretching or foam rolling to loosen up my body from the day.

Tip: If you want to wake up less stiff in the morning make sure you don’t go to bed stiff.  This evening routine has helped me tremendously in this area.

I try very hard to get to bed before 11:30 and I will often listen to either something inspirational before I go to sleep or I will do a meditation.  

Weekend routine

Depending on the day and the kids' activities, I typically have more of a chunk of time to myself in the morning (currently this is Saturday). What I love doing is waking up without an alarm and then taking the dog outside for 15-20 minutes. When I come in, I usually get my yoga mat out and either do an online class or do some core/Pilates work. If I have extra time I will pick something else to do in the garage such as resistance bands, my vibration plate or some light weights. Typically I am at the gym with a trainer on Wednesdays and occasionally on Fridays so depending on what I’ve already worked out, that will determine what I do on Saturdays and Sundays. If time permits, I like making breakfast for the boys and it’s always nice when we don’t have to rush out somewhere in the morning.

So what will you notice about this? Well, you won’t see me doing hours of workouts a day or spending one hour in meditation. You won’t see any formal classes or any strict workout routines.  I also don't spend hours in the kitchen everyday.

What you will find are the five or six things that work very well for my body scattered throughout the day in little windows. As I teach in my Longevity Academy Membership, we have certain pillars that we need to focus on to achieve optimal health and wellness. They are: movement, mobility, sleep optimization, supplementation, proper food/water intake and stress management. I’ve had to figure this out for not only for myself but also for hundreds of my patients over the years. This is why I put it all together in a step-by-step, easy to follow online format. If you would like to learn how to incorporate these activities into your day-to-day I highly recommend you check out the membership here.

Good luck and let me know if you have any questions.

All the best,

Dr. Jason