There is a misconception that in order to truly focus on building the business, the relationship, taking care of the children, loving your family, or winning the client, we need to lose sleep, compromise healthy eating habits, and constantly be panicked and flustered. It means we care because we are “sacrificing” ourselves. But last time I checked, we are much less effective on less sleep, poor eating habits, and less peace of mind.

In order to be your best – to be the most focused, loving, intentional version of yourself, you have to take care of YOU FIRST. This means, before anything else, you prioritize your own sleep, diet and (something that seems to be lost easily) regular, consistent exercise. This blog post focuses on exercise because in my industry (law) I see this lost the most easily and frequently. In order to maintain a healthy pattern of exercise you must:

1) Make it a written, non-negotiable goal that you will be exercising 3-6 days per week. This is something that should be as much of a given as brushing your teeth or going to the bathroom. Do it. You will feel better, be more confident, live longer and have more energy throughout the day;

2) Have your go-to “travel” or home workout(s). This is a full body workout or three that you can do anywhere – hotel room, a park, or in a submarine that you know will get the job done for you in 12 minutes or less. When I am in a time pinch I do 10 min of: 15 squats, 15 push ups, and 15 sit ups. Or 100 burpees for time. Not pleasant during but it’s a great workout and keeps you consistent (see Rule #1). Find something and get comfortable with it to the point that you don’t have to think, you just do it. Play music and make it fun. I do a workout like this an average of once per week;

3) Join a gym within 5 minutes or less from your work or home. You have to make working out as convenient as possible if you want to stick with it. You will be tired and cranky after work. Make sure your gym is close to home or the office so you know that that’s where you’re going on the way home/before work;

4) Surround yourself with like-minded individuals. Iron sharpens iron. You make yourself better at things by spending time with people who are better than you at things. The gym is no different. HIIT workouts are all the rage for a reason. They work. They are great, full-body workouts and you are surrounded by people who will hold you accountable and make you better at fitness;

Follow these four steps. Make regular fitness a non-negotiable. It may feel selfish but it makes you a better version of yourself – your attitude, energy level and confidence. Your loved ones benefit from it just as much as you do. Everybody wins.