9 minutes, subscription purge, time off

🌱 HEALTHY

9 Minutes That Matter

Watched a Rhonda Patrick episode this week where she and exercise physiologist Brady Holmer were breaking down these VILPA studies - vigorous intermittent lifestyle physical activity.

Researchers are using accelerometers to track people's actual movement instead of asking them to remember what they did at the gym last week. They're measuring these short vigorous bursts that happen naturally. Carrying groceries up three flights of stairs. Sprinting to catch the subway. Playing with your dog. 1-3 minutes at a time.

People doing about 9 minutes total per day - three separate 3-minute bursts - saw a 50% reduction in cardiovascular mortality. 40% reduction in all-cause mortality. 40% reduction in cancer mortality.

Another study had women doing just 3.4 minutes per day. 45% lower risk of major cardiovascular events. 67% lower risk of heart failure.

They compared this to people doing structured exercise. Same outcomes. Your body doesn't distinguish between a planned workout and hauling your suitcase up four flights because the elevator's broken. It just registers the stimulus.

Most of us already do some of this without thinking about it. But knowing it counts might change how you approach those moments. Take the stairs faster instead of slower. Carry your own bags instead of getting help.

If you missed your workout because you got slammed with work or travel, the day's not a write-off. A few 3-minute bursts of jumping jacks or burpees between calls still add up.

Takeaway: Notice when you're already moving hard during the day. Add one intentional 3-minute burst somewhere. Not having hours to exercise isn't the barrier you think it is.

Challenge: Perform any kind of bodyweight squat 100x a day. Can be throughout the day, doesn't need to be all in one go. Try this for 30 days and see what happens.

🪙 WEALTHY

Cut the Subscriptions You Forgot About

You're probably paying for something right now that you completely forgot about.

An app you tried once and never opened again. A tool you signed up for during a free trial and forgot to cancel. A streaming service you got to watch one show. A software subscription you needed for one project six months ago.

These things sit there charging you every month and you don't even notice until you actually look.

So before the year ends, go through every recurring payment. Subscriptions, memberships, streaming platforms, software, apps. Cancel or pause anything you're not actively using right now.

There's nothing wrong with paying for things that genuinely make your life or work easier. But you need to be using them.

Takeaway: Block some time out this week to go through all your subscriptions. Cancel what you're not using. Put the savings toward something that actually matters.

📚 AND WISE

Don't Be All About Business

We're all guilty of this. It's easy to just keep working. There's always something to do. Another email to send. Another project to finish. Another client to follow up with. Another thing that feels urgent.

I get it. We're all trying to grow our businesses or perform for our teams or make more money. But it's also really easy to let that become the default way you spend your time. Work is always there. You can always justify doing more of it.

The year's almost over. And I know everyone says this kind of stuff at the end of December, but actually take some time to reflect. Not in a productivity hack way where you're planning your Q1 strategy. Just like, actually think about the year you had.

Spend time with your friends and family during the holidays. Not while you're also checking Slack on your phone. Actually be there.

You can always fill your time with work. That's the easy part. There's literally infinite work you could be doing at any moment if you wanted to justify it. What's harder is planning actual quality time with people you care about and then protecting that time when it comes.

I'm not saying don't work. I'm saying don't let work be the only thing you do just because you feel like you should always be grinding.

Takeaway: Take a few days off. Go see people. Be present when you're with them instead of half-present while thinking about everything else you could be doing. The work will still be there in January.