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Today after a run at the gym, I took a look around at the other runners. I was surprised to see the amount of waste movement that many runners seem to have, which greatly affects their endurance and stamina. Now let me just say, I’m not a champion marathon runner, but I do know a thing or two about running.

Let me describe an efficient stride as best as I can:

• Shoulders are set and are not moving
• Arms are swinging forward, not side to side or diagonally
• Entire upper body barely moves
• Knees kept low
• Running heel to toe with the feet

The main emphasis of the efficient stride is very minimal movement of non-necessary appendages. But of course, the message behind this post isn’t on how to run more efficiently, but you saw that coming.

Many people seem to go through life doing trivial and wasteful activities. For example, I spend a lot of time worrying. Worrying about academics, extracurriculars, friends, family, and basically everything under the sun. It’s a very tiring endeavour, similar to running inefficiently. How would you make life more efficient?

Analyze. Look through what you spend a lot of time doing, and really think about it. Is it helping in your personal growth? Is it helping you advance in your career? Does it help you meet your goals? If not, why are you doing it?

Plan. My friend Cheryl Ho lists four helpful tips on how to better manage our time, and it’s a great start. Allocate time for your priorities and remain proactive. Your life is in your control and if you plan wisely and stick to it, your wasteful activities should be minimized and you will notice an increase in productivity.

You would be surprised at how many wasteful activities you will find in your life, and you only ever realize during crunch time. With proper analysis and planning, crunch time will be more manageable and you will be less stressed.

So what are you waiting for? Cut the fat and run like a champion!

Posted on March 17th, 2009 by Jon Lim
Filed under: Life