Learning how to optimize your life..

When I set out on my personal growth journey back in 2015 I was truly starting from the ground up. I had terrible habits of sleeping in until 10am, smoking weed everyday, watching countless episodes of Law and Order and eating so many sour patch kids I couldn’t even keep track. Even though I had a little bit of money in my savings account, was in decent shape, and well rounded regarding social norms I knew there were ways I could improve, I just had little awareness of the endless possibilities that could be achieved.

OPTIMIZING OUR TIME IS IMPORTANT. BECOMING MORE EFFICIENT IS SMARTER. LIVING BETTER IS NECESSARY.

I knew that I was squandering time sleeping in and watching Olivia Benson catch rapists all day but I didn’t really know where to begin. I felt like reading a book instead of watching TV sounded like the right thing to do. I also heard that successful people like Jeff Bezos and Darren Hardy wake up early so I figured I’d give that a try – just gotta trust the process, right? “All change is hard at first, messy in the middle, and so gorgeous at the end.” – Robin Sharma.

By 2017 waking up early and reading everyday seemed to get easier and more enjoyable – rising before the sun just “hit different” and learning about personal growth from some of the best authors in the world was inspiring me and seemed to be adding motivation and ambition to my life.

This is where my life got interesting. As I was implementing more and more good habits it gave me more time and energy to focus on new ones. I had made waking up early and daily reading so automatic it took zero of my mental attention, self discipline, and willpower muscle to accomplish that. It had allowed me to use that stored energy on adding yet another world class habit into my life.

Optimizing your time is not multi- tasking, it’s nearly impossible for us to focus on two things at once. Optimizing your time is defined by making the most out of each moment. For example, you can optimize your time with your family simply by putting your phone away. Or you can optimize your time sleeping by implementing a world class nighttime routine. Getting things done faster is not always better we should shoot for “more efficient.”

Fast forward to 2020 and my habits are now sharper than a sword held in the hands of a soldier in the Roman army. I wake up at 5am Monday through Friday and immediately begin to play an audiobook on my phone. The moment my eyes open and I regain consciousness my phone is hammering positivity, personal growth, and self development into my brain. From there I usually drive to a Tesla charger ( I don’t have a garage so I usually have to drive somewhere to charge my car in the morning especially if I have appointments that day.) During this time of charging I sit quietly in solitude and meditate. When I meditate I try to lose my thoughts in time, if you have ever meditated you know that this is a challenge but just being aware of your thoughts is building awareness and consciousness in your life that does not result in linear results but compounding results over time. From there I drive to Starbucks (listening to audible of course – right now I’m reading “Effortless” by Greg Mckeown. A great read on how we can make hard tasks effortless and productive work enjoyable.) When I get to Starbucks I don’t always drink a coffee because I’m frugal and wise with how I spend my earned income and don’t want to waste it all away on a $150/month Starbucks habit. It’s not the cost I’m concerned about, it’s the habit of being a spender that I’m focusing on avoiding and also overtime $4 coffees could be millions if invested in the S&P 500 or Bitcoin. At Starbucks I read about 20 pages or so of an inspiration, spiritual, or personal growth book and then write a blog, which I’m doing right now. This is a peek into my world class morning routine and even though routines can be altered and changed, this one has yielded me incredible results.

Now I can bore you with all of the other mundane tasks I perform on a daily basis all of which help push the needle closer to my goals of feeling better in my body, accomplishing 12 Ironman races in a row, and becoming one of the most successful personal growth and life coaches of all time but I’ll spare you the agony. (If you are genuinely curious feel free to email me at zacharyrance@gmail.com and if I can make the time we can chat.)

• So what can you learn right here, right now?
• In what ways can you optimize your life?
• How can you make the most of your time?
• Which daily tasks can you make easier or perform with less friction?

These are questions I ask myself daily.

My point is this, in order to step into the greatest version of ourselves each and everyday we must ask ourselves how we can optimize our life and time. What can you do to add more value and pack more of a punch into what you are already doing?

Some ways I optimize my life:

• Listen to audible while I drive.
• Practice spanish on Duolingo while I poop.
• Order paper goods and menial house supplies on amazon.
• Put my phone away while I spend time with my family.
• Meditate while I charge my car.

I encourage you to find ways in which you can optimize your life

Good luck.