Master Your Decisions & Master Your Life, but HOW?

Hey Decision Maker,

Short one from me this week, bit pressed for time.

I’m flying back from Auckland (the capital of New Zealand) this afternoon to Sydney, Australia.

(I wrote this in December!)

I also just posted the New Zealand South Island Vlog, you can watch it here:

How are you going? Let me know by replying to this email.

You know the drill, let’s get right into it:

Reading time: ~5 minutes

FITNESS: How to use hotel gym facilities

So I’m staying at a decent hotel for a few nights and finally, I have a (slightly) more relaxed schedule.

I got time last night to check out the gym. It’s pretty good! Got some machines, basic dumbbells, treadmills and a row machine.

AND a heated pool.

Can’t complain.

Now a lot of you only know how to do your ‘usual’ workout in your ‘usual’ gym.

This is friction.

You don’t have your usual equipment, so you use that excuse to not do the workout.

“What’s the point?” you say.

I’ve done this & I’m sure you have too.

So what’s the solution?

Hit full body and just train hard. Keep it simple.

My favourite approach is to start from the ground up.

I warm up with a 1-mile run on the treadmill (or ‘skip’ if there isn’t one) then get into calf & tibia’s raises.

Next, I train legs: use dumbbells for walking lunges & RDLs.

Then do abs, planks are a great one. Try to hit at least a minute, you don’t need any equipment.

Now train your back and chest in a superset. You can use dumbbells or any pully machine to do rows, then pair that with chest presses or pushups.

No excuses!

Then you can do some accessories - lateral raises, shrugs, bicep curls (just do a superset)

Then finish with a row, another run, a bike ride, or a swim in the pool.

It took about 3 hours and was definitely a replacement for a regular workout (and more!)

So don’t use travel as an excuse to not stay active.

Choose activities that are fun and challenging. You’ll have a much better time (and stories to tell!)

Actionable step:

Write down a super basic workout you can do in any hotel gym. Keep the note in your phone NOW so you have no excuse not to hit your workout while travelling.

MINDSET: You need SPACE

Humans need social connections and we also need solitude. No matter where you are, who you’re with, or what your schedule looks like.

You need to put in time for yourself.

It’s not ‘free’ time. It’s YOUR time.

Put 2 hours in your calendar for YOU.

You’re not available to other people. Now you can do whatever tf you want to do.

Meditate, work on your business, read.

Protect your time.

If you’re travelling like me, you might need to physically distance yourself from who you’re travelling with.

Go for a walk, go to a far cafe in the morning, basically get out of the hotel room and do some shit by yourself every day.

I’m writing this newsletter from Starbucks at 8 am.

It’s peaceful. I have space. I can focus.

Actionable step: 

Dedicate some time (at least 30 minutes) in your calendar every day for YOU. It’s not free time. It’s ‘you time’.

Want to start your own Newsletter? Start here:

MONEY: Eating OUT vs Eating IN

If you’re buying food out every day you are absolutely killing yourself financially.

Naturally while travelling (with my mother) we’ve been hopping around hotels without cooking facilities and eating at restaurants and other joints.

I try to eat quality food, which is abundant in New Zealand but it’s damn EXPENSIVE.

A solid meal at a mid-tier restaurant is $40+ - it adds up if you’re doing that twice a day!

I’m not saying this is wrong to do while on holiday, but I can’t imagine doing that in everyday life.

Buy quality groceries, cook or meal-prep and eat WELL for LESS.

If you have a stovetop or even just a microwave, you have all you need to eat well for less.

Use it & stop buying out.

Actionable step:

Plan a basic grocery list and shop for quality ingredients. Even simpler, next time you’re out and feel like buying some ready-made meals (restaurant/fast food) just say NO. Train yourself that you don’t HAVE to do it. Get in the reps.

RELATIONSHIPS: Travelling will show you why people are like they are

Recently I’ve travelled with a close friend, and my mother.