Want results in the gym?
Figure out your sleep.
If you’re gonna tell me you’re serious about your health, I’m gonna ask what you do between 9:00-11:00 PM.
Are you in bed, or are you spending hours decompressing in front of the tv?
Because going to sleep earlier and having a calm mind is not only a flex, it’s a cheat code for getting results.
Now it’s more than just sleep, but this Sunday, you have a golden opportunity to get that sleep piece dialed in.
I call it “The Superbowl Rule”:
Every. Single. Solitary. Task. you need done before you start the week must be completed before kick-off.
You must have NOTHING left to do as you sit down to watch the game.
The Superbowl Rule is my yearly reset for my sleep schedule & routine.
It gets me back into the groove of setting an intention for the week. That’s needed, especially on the heels of an exhausting and disruptive holiday season.
The idea is that you’re going to not only go to bed at a decent hour, you’re going to have a calm mind and feel prepared for the week ahead.
For us central time zone folks, the Superbowl kicks off at 5:30 PM. They’ll drag the game out as much as humanly possible, but it’ll still all be over by 9:00.
How sweet would it be if, once the game ends, you’re able to turn off the television, maybe put a plate or two in the dishwasher, and walk upstairs to bed? Or if you went out for the game, how nice would it be to arrive home, change/wash up, and go to bed?
What if a day that is traditionally known for causing people to be wrecked on Monday, became your best Monday in ages!?
(You’re on your own if you drink like an asshole on a Sunday evening.)
When I’m coaching someone on a goal, we’re going to discuss their sleep, because it’s a huge factor. And as we’re discussing their sleep, one of the first things we cover is the “Sunday Scaries”.
If you’re gonna get enough sleep, you’re likely starting things off right on Sunday night.
But for many, they’re so stressed with the impending work week, that they get overwhelmed with all the thoughts in their head.
These are important responsibilities. You cannot forget them. So if the only place you’ve got them written down is in your head……. That’s going to burn a ton of energy and keep your thoughts swimming.
But this anxious combination of feeling unsettled and unprepared ruins that Sunday night’s sleep. Without a solid start to the week and a solid plan, we allow too many variables to come into our lives, and struggle to recover.
We lack structure and intention, so any damn thing can now butt its way into our schedule. That’s when things go off the rails.
Let’s take that control back, and set ourselves up to crush the week!
Here’s a starter checklist of items that must be done by 5:30 PM at the latest this Sunday!
Add/subtract whatever specific Sunday routines you need for yourself.
For this first go-round, allow no exceptions. Make your personalized list, then ensure that EVERYTHING is done before the Superbowl begins.
Yes, we’ll be kind to ourselves while we run this weekly, but I want you to experience this protocol run to perfection.
- Laundry (I actually write these 4 steps out, simply so I can build momentum with 4 checks instead of 1!)
- Washed
- Dried
- Folded
- Put Away
- Food
- Meals Planned
- Grocery Shopping
- Meal Prep Complete
- To-Dos for the Week
- *Brain Dump (I’ll discuss in detail below)
- “Huddle” with S/O
- Fill in Calendar with:
- Work stuff
- Family stuff
- Workouts
- Hobbies
- Errands
- Social Events
- etc.
- Young Kid Prep
- Laundry
- Food
- School Work
- Bathed
- Chores/Errands for the day
- Final Personal prep: layout & prep whatever you need for tomorrow
- Food
- Clothes
- Etc.
Of course, modify this for your needs. That said, this is a pretty solid list of Sunday “chores”. It’s quite likely that your final list will include several components from above.
The one item that may not currently be on your list is the Brain Dump.
It’s so simple that people often underestimate it.
A Brain Dump is simply writing out a list and emptying your brain. Every task, every “can’t forget it!” that’s swimming around in your head, taking up valuable mental resources.
Your mind is so amazing and complex that frankly, it’s really fucking dumb to waste this limited resource on remembering inane bullshit that you gotta get done.
Because over and over again, that’s what we find is exhausting people. Until you can get to that item, which might not be until Thursday, your brain has to keep juggling it.
You can google different ways to do a brain dump, but to start, I simply recommend that you get every thought, idea, and to-do out of your head, and onto a piece of paper, a note, whatever.
If you want, you can then sort the items by priority.
If all we do is simply list that stuff out, we allow our mind to breathe!
We let it relax.
And now, we can rest.
Let’s be real for a second. Completing everything on that checklist above by 5:30 PM isn’t that hard. You just gotta be intentional about getting shit done.
If you are, you’ll get to sit down and watch the Superbowl with nothing more to do!
You’ll go to bed with a relaxed body and calm mind.
You’ll awake Monday morning prepared for the day, rather than dreading it.
Get dialed in this Sunday.
Punch Monday square in the face.
