Niche Twins - 🔧 A Wrench in the Machine

Dad bod is real.

Exactly 18 months ago, my wife and I had our first son.

I never in a million years thought I'd be that guy, but I let things slip.

So at the start of this year, with the helpful banter of a borderline psychotic friend group chat, I went all in on getting back on track.

Cardio, eating habits, gym routine...all in.

I am not a natural born runner.

And long distances bore me to death.

So on the cardio front I've been running anywhere from 1 to 3 miles, a minimum of 4 times a week.

And when I do run, I go for really high intensity (my personal goal is normalizing 6-minute splits).

In the beginning it was brutal. Every run felt like a fight for my life.

But after about 6 weeks in, I started to notice it was really just those last 2 to 3 minutes where I'd start to lose my edge...

...until I learned about the "double breath".

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When your heart rate is elevated and you’re going really hard, you start unconsciously taking quicker, shorter breaths.

And rapid, shallow breathing introduces more stress into your system in an already high stress situation.

For me, this nearly always happens right at the worst possible time, right as my mind starts playing games with me.

*On the home stretch of any run, I literally have full blown internal conversations with myself. One side of my brain is coming up with a million different reasons why we should wrap this up early, and the other side is just saying “shut the fu*k up” over and over and over again.* 🤣

The idea behind the double breath, is right at this inflection point, you breathe in through your nose, pause, and then take a second short inhale.

Then you breathe out, long and slow, through your mouth.

That’s it.

And sure, there are a bunch of science backed reasons for why this is so effective.

But here's the real reason - it breaks your body and brain out of its normal cycle.

From passive to active. From passenger to driver.

You take back control.

I had this bizarre, subtle realization during a run the other day. At the beginning, it felt like the pavement was making contact with my feet.

And after just one double breath, it genuinely felt like it was the other way around - like it was my feet that were making contact with the pavement.

The lesson of the double breath applies to all facets of life.

It's incredibly easy to fall into endless patterns and habits, to the point where we become a passenger in own day to day life.

We've all been there.

But just like the double breath technique, there are small, seemingly trivial ways you can snap out of it and take back control.

Insanely, the first quarter of 2024 is already behind us.

Here are a few small ways I've been consciously throwing a wrench in the machine...

Changing My Environment

The power of a change in environment cannot be overstated.

My wife and I both work from home. And in my experience, there are far more pros than cons.

But some days, sitting in the exact same room, with the exact same setup, with the exact same view, absolutely zaps my energy and my motivation.

So, two days a week I mix it up.

More recently I've been hitting the beautiful and FREE public library that's just 5 minutes down the road from me (shoutout Neville and Mike who both put this option back on my radar).

I go for exactly two hours and bring nothing but my MacBook with me.

It's already starting to pay dividends - this week I hit publish on a new Startup Stumbles article for the first time in months.

Wander & Wonder

They say “you can't manage what you can't measure", and for me that rings true.

At the beginning of March, I bought a Garmin watch and now my total daily steps are staring me in the face at all times.

From the beginning my aim has been hitting at least 10,000 steps a day.

And surprise, surprise - now that I'm tracking it, that's exactly what I'm doing:

But the real adjustment I've made, is at least once a week, I go for a long aimless walk without listening to anything.

I genuinely can't recommend this one enough.

I don't go with any set plan.

But without fail, I have a thought or insight that's meaningful enough I feel the need to write it down the second I get back.

The "One Big Thing"

I've always been a big list guy.

For a few years now, I've ended every single work day by spending a few minutes to come up with a list of 3 things I intend to accomplish the following day.

It's been incredibly helpful.

But in this current season of my life with a growing family, I've been finding that I'm not consistently crossing all three to-do's off my list everyday.

So, I made a small adjustment.

Now, when I sit down at the end of the day, I write just one to-do down - my "one big thing" that I won't compromise on.

It can be work or life related.

Again, it's a seemingly small change, but it's interesting how much more difficult it is to pick just one.

And somehow through that process, I'm finding I'm able to cut to the core of what success looks like for me on any given day.

Alright, that's it for this week.

My challenge for you...

...come Monday, throw a double breath at some mundane aspect of your daily routine.

Break the cycle.

-Keith

P.S. not quite there, but we're getting closer...