Bill Hartman

Author: Bill

  • Two Strategies to Get Things Done

    Two Strategies to Get Things Done

    Lately, I seem to be very busy but not getting as much done as I’d like.

    We don’t benefit from just being busy.

    We benefit from getting things done. It is the completion of tasks that make the difference.

    Seeing as we are three days into the 2nd quarter of 2018, I thought it would be a good idea to talk strategies to getting more things done.

    There are two strategies that I fall back on when I’m challenged by the dislike of having to perform certain tasks.

    Eating frogs or making snowballs.

    Eating frogs comes from Brian Tracy.

    “If the first thing you do each morning is to eat a live frog, you can go through the day with the satisfaction of knowing that that is probably the worst thing that is going to happen to you all day.”
    -From Eat That Frog:  21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating

    The frog is the most important task that you need to complete, but because of it’s perceived demand, it’s also something you’ll most likely procrastinate on.

    Perhaps you’re having trouble getting your workouts complete each week.

    You can “eat the frog” by getting up early and going to the gym first thing. Workout completed and the rest of the day is easier because you’ll no long worry about getting it done.

    Got a big project due? Do it first thing in your workday. Task completed. The rest of the day is easy.

    The second strategy is The Snowball Method.

    This is actually based on a debt reduction strategy promoted by Dave Ramsey where you pay off the smallest debt first and then the next largest and so on, but you can modify it to any behavior modification challenge you’re facing.

    The idea is that you address the low hanging fruit of your behaviors first. Do something small, simple, and measurable toward your goals.

    By doing to something that is favorable toward a goal, you’ll get a little hit of dopamine, your reward neurotransmitter in your brain. Dopamine feels good.

    Just packing your gym bag and taking it with you in the morning makes it more you’ll hit the gym on the way home.

    Writing out your education goals for the year can get you on track to move your forward from a professional standpoint.

    Now that you’re looking for your next hit of dopamine, you’re more likely do the next thing that is required for you to hit your goal.

    Over time, your behaviors become like a snowball rolling down hill and accumulating more snow and growing until you’ve amassed a number of consistent behaviors that support you goal-directed efforts.

    I can’t say that one is more powerful than the other, but I’ve used both successfully. The key is to take some form of action, right or wrong. Act.

    Your comeback starts today.

  • Review and Reflection on the 1st Quarter of 2018

    Review and Reflection on the 1st Quarter of 2018

    This week marks the end of week 13 of 2018.

    It’s the end of the first quarter which means it’s time to take a look at where you stand in relationship to your plans, goals, and outcomes.

    Take time this week to reflect on what you’ve done well.

    Determine where you came up short in regard to your quarterly goals.

    Don’t beat yourself up over how successful or unsuccessful you were. That is now in the past and you can do nothing about it. Ruminating over perceived failures or prolonging the celebration of your successes achieves nothing.

    Look at your progress objectively. View it as if you were looking at someone else’s program; someone else’s progress.

    Based on what you know, what would you tell them?

    What were your biggest wins?
    What did you learn from them?
    What were your biggest challenges?
    How did you fare against them?

    What will you change in quarter #2?

    What behaviors will you focus on?

    What is your ONE BIG THING that you’re targeting for the 2nd quarter of 2018?

    What are the two little things that you’ll need to achieve to reach your 2nd quarter goals?

    How will you adjust your plans and course of action to make the 2nd quarter as success?

    Get out your notebook and write out the answers to these questions this week. Narrow the focus of your efforts to just 3 things. Get them done.

    Your comeback starts today.

  • 28-Days to Lock in Your Eating Plan

    28-Days to Lock in Your Eating Plan

    Question:  I’m doing well at making the necessary changes to enhance my resilience, but I’m still finding my nutrition program lacking. It’s not that I don’t know what I should be eating, but rather I need some strategy to execute a supportive nutrition plan.  I just don’t seem to have the time.  Any ideas?

    Answer:  There’s no question that some supportive behaviors are easier to change than others. Nutrition seems to be one of the hardest.

    When it comes to changing the way our bodies look, to get leaner, and to stay healthier, nutrition is number one even over our workouts. Thankfully, it takes just a modest amount of planning and a little bit of time to successfully structure the execution of an effective supportive eating plan.

    Here’s what you’ll need:

    1. A supportive eating plan

    2. Your daily planner

    3. Enough food storage containers

    4. Four weeks

    Your Supportive Eating Plan

    While it seems understood that to have a supportive nutrition plan designed to help you lose fat, look better, and feel better, it can be terribly confusing as to which plan is best.

    The human body is very adaptable in regard to nutrition, so many different diet plans may prove successful. However, the reason so many diet plans may be effective is that they follow similar principles. Therefore, I suggest you seek out one that is based on simple, sound principles of nutrition and that is easy to adapt to your lifestyle.

    My suggestion is the Meta Shred Diet from my good buddy, Dr. Mike Roussell from Chapter 11 in ALL GAIN, NO PAIN. Dr. Mike is the best in the business and remains my go-to guy for all things nutrition. Meta Shred is a no gimmicks approach filled with superb explanations of the nutritional principles that are effective no matter what diet program you choose. It also happens to be one of the easiest programs to execute with a day-to-day explanation of exactly what you should be eating to support your weight loss goal.

    By the way, Meta Shred is marketed as a 28-day plan which is the perfect amount of time to establish your supportive eating behaviors. I’d also like to point out that I still use the Meta Shred principles every day to stay under 10% body (going on 2 years!).

    Your Daily Planner

    Your supportive eating plan is important. If you schedule it, you’ll do it.

    Most folks are challenged by time. There never seems to be enough time to everything done especially when it comes to meal preparation.

    I’ll offer two solutions.

    Solution 1:  Let’s say you’re doing two intensity-based workouts and two-capacity workouts per week. That’s about an hour per workout on four out of seven days. On two of your non exercise days, use the same time of day that you’d be working out to prepare your meals. On the remaining non exercise day, review your copy of Meta Shred to select your plan and select your meals.

    Solution 2:  Take a couple hours on Saturday or Sunday and knock the whole thing out at once.

    Get Your Food Storage Containers

    There’s two things I can’t seem to get enough of… colored tabs to mark important passages in my books and food storage containers.

    Makes sure you’ve got enough of them and I suggest you purchase the best quality you afford so they last a long time.

    Portion out your meals and store them in the refrigerator for when it’s time to eat. One of the keys to executing your supportive eating plan is to eliminate the emotion that goes with choosing what to eat. Unplanned eating is less likely when you’ve already decided what you’ll be eating.

    Four Weeks from Now

    You may not be perfect when it comes to executing your supportive eating plan. I’m surely not.

    Each week strive to make progress on the execution of each step of the plan. Plan. Prepare. Store. Eat. Strive for an A- (90% effective) each week when you reflect on the week each Sunday.

    In a matter of just four weeks, this lifestyle adjustment will be second nature. You’ll also most likely have noticed measurable progress toward your weigh loss goal.

  • Anatomy… Why do we have clavicles?

    Anatomy… Why do we have clavicles?

    Students tend to be weak in regard to dynamic anatomy. Learning anatomy via rote memorization, as is often the case, is not meaningful or useful.

    If anatomy is learned in context or with an analogy is can be easier to learn, understand, and apply. Here is a short video discussing why humans (not dogs) have clavicles.

  • Infrasternal Angle Video Demonstration

    Infrasternal Angle Video Demonstration

    Here’a brief video to show how the lower rib cage and diaphragm interact to alter the appearance of the infrasternal angle.