For almost 9 years my dream job was to work for a leading multinational company, so that I could impress others when they asked, “What do you do for a living?”
After many attempts year after year, finally, I joined Procter & Gamble as a Functional Expert working in the order management department.
A month later Apple phoned me after 4 stressful interviews and said “we would love to hire you in our Southampton store.”
As I could not turn down both offers; I joined Apple on a part time basis as a specialist on top of my full time job at P&G.
I worked 5 weekdays from 9-5 and 16 hours on the weekends.
February of the following year I passed all the tests required to join The Royal Marines Reserves.
I was under so much stress as I loved all three jobs and didn’t want give up any in favor of the others.
I tried to cut my hours down at P&G to fit in with Apple during the week, but they refused.
So, I had to apply for military leave at Apple to fit in with the Royal Marines training every other weekend.
In short, 5 week days at P&G, one weekend at Apple, and one weekend Military Training plus Wednesday nights training as well.
The challenge was not doing the 3 jobs, rather it was getting everything done to have a normal life.
For example: time for de-servicing and re-servicing my military kit, washing, cleaning, ironing, grocery shopping, eating, sleeping, maintaining the car, checking on my family, writing, getting a hair cut, working out every day and keeping my sanity in order.
1. Manage Your Time
You have to do this in your head, on a piece of paper or a smartphone notetaker.
I have learned from James Altucher, the greatest influencer to my personal development, that carrying a notepad around at all times and writing down ideas and lists of things needed to be done have helped me get through every day as smoothly as possible.
Another way is to use a deck of post it notes and boldly writing the tasks on each.
Don’t organize the checklist in the order of importance, you will waste time.
Just start doing the first task and once completed, scrap the note.
In no time, you will have accomplished all of the to do’s and can reward yourself with an episode of Impractical Jokers.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BS2XQLIhuZg/?taken-by=selectspecs
2.Cut Out Laziness & Slouching
You must keep active and going with no excuses.
Do everything that needs to be done on the spot, and do not think or say “maybe tomorrow I am too tired today.”
Just do it right now, and trust me, the feeling afterwards will be very fulfilling.
When I come back from work, I have to shop for dinner, pick the washing, fold the clothes, put them in the closet, cook, wash the dishes, walk the dog, trim my nails, iron for next day, watch tv, call my friends and finally read a bit before crashing to sleep.
In the Marines, during extreme endurance exercises, we repeat in our minds “Don’t think, Just do.”
3. Think Before You Blink
The act of stopping for very short moments and thinking before doing anything will add minutes, if not hours, to your day.
I am still an amateur at this as I always start the car with the gear not in place and the car jumps.
Sometimes I start shaving then put shaving cream on.
I also never get it the right way first time when unlocking my car door, numerous times I have told myself that turning the key left will lock the door, right will open the door but guess what, my brain still likes to do it the opposite way.
When I approach my car I always tend to go to the passenger’s seat not the drivers; driving in the UK and other countries in Europe every now and then is such a skill.
As a result, I learned to stop before doing anything, think and analyze the situation at hand.
It does make a huge difference and actually saves time at the end of the day.
In the marines if you are not careful every step of the way, and I mean literally every step of the way, you might end up with a lifetime injury that ends your career with the RM.
I would suggest that before you carry on to the next paragraph, stop for a second and think, “Is this post worth carrying on reading or is it another blog wasting of my time?”
4. Enjoy The Journey
Life is a trip without a destination; there’s no finish line, so enjoy the journey.
I try my best not to think about tomorrow or the next hour.
During my day I have everything written on my notepad, so that I can enjoy every moment and not stress about the next.
I used to get really nervous closer to the training weekend, but I started adopting the “enjoy your journey technique.”
Come training, it’s not as bad as I imagined in my head.
We suffer more in our imagination than in reality – Seneca
With no days off for 6 months, I was missing a lot, but I still managed to find time for a drink or two at some dinners with friends.
Don’t forget to switch off occasionally and disconnect, not only through your phone, but with your brain.
Go for a walk in the woods, on the beach or on the roof.
Anywhere you can escape your daily routine to enjoy some peace.
These pair of Oliver People’s sunglasses are perfect for your next walk, whether in the park or the office hallway; Flipping-up the shades is recommended indoors (Unless you are Mr. Shwarzennegar)
Oliver Peoples OV5004C RILEY-R FLIP-UP CLIP sunglasses
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